Do “permissive” concealed firearms laws lead to more gun deaths, as PPA opponents claim?
No. Opponents use historical differences between states in the South and the Northeast to attempt to mislead policy makers and the public. There has always been more violence of all types in the South than in the Northeast. Concealed firearms laws (most enacted within the last 15 years) have nothing to do with this. The FBI recently reported that the country’s murder rate is at a 40-year low. This comes at a time when the number of states with concealed firearms laws has never been higher (46). If the opponents’ claims were remotely accurate, one would assume the murder rate would be at an all-time high, not a 40-year low. Similarly, “gun deaths” are not a good measure of effects caused by permit laws because permits have nothing to do with accidents and suicides (majority of all gun-related deaths). Because opponents claim that a laminated permit will convert an otherwise law-abiding citizen into a ‘bloodthirsty killer,” the only pertinent category of death is firearm homicides. Contr
