Op-Ed: The good guys carry guns, too

October 9, 2004
The Roanoke (VA)Times

by Ed Mitchell

Jake is a good friend, and I'm sure he'll forgive me for not using his real name here. One of the reasons I like Jake so much is that he carries a gun. But you'd never know it.

He's a big, friendly guy with a lot of friends, and he likes to help people. Jake's wife and two kids love him. From our long friendship, I know there's not a mean bone in his body.

Jake isn't my only friend who carries a concealed weapon. You would be surprised at how many of us there are. We've taken the training, passed the exam and had the background check, and we hold permits to carry a concealed weapon.

We also practice regularly at the shooting range. Every five years we're retested, and we have to apply for new permits. We're law-abiding citizens, and we adhere strictly to good firearms safety practices.

Because of our training, we understand that we can use a lethal weapon only as the absolute last resort to prevent a violent felony. If there is any way to avoid pulling a weapon, even if it means running away from an assailant, that is what we must do.

As you might guess, neither Jake nor I have ever used a firearm against another person, except in previous military situations. We have no need to show off or talk about our readiness with firearms. Frankly, we'd just as soon it was never mentioned.

When I go places with Jake or any of my gun-toting friends, especially when our spouses and children are with us, I feel a lot better knowing that the bad guys - no matter what their motives or goals may be - have less of a chance to do their evil. One of the worst scenarios feared by robbers, muggers, kidnappers and killers is running into a citizen who is armed and well-trained.

In America, solid citizens are signing up for concealed carry permits in large numbers, and that is a major benefit and strength of this country. The bad guys have always been carrying weapons, mostly illegally, and they always will. But percentage-wise, they're being steadily outnumbered in most states.

For a long time, evildoers were able to walk into certain places (oh, like banks, for example), pull out their guns and do most anything they wanted - for a short while, at least.

But now, there's an increased possibility that, as soon as they announce "this is a hold-up," they'll hear a chorus of shells being cranked into chambers, safeties clicking off and be looking at the wrong end of several gun barrels.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

According to FBI statistics, violent crime nationwide has been waning steadily for the past 12 years, during which time an average of nearly 5 million guns were being bought by private citizens each year.

Also, violent crimes significantly decreased where concealed carry laws were enacted (now 32 states), not the opposite, as the anti-gun groups would have us believe.

Thanks to an informed citizenry and a majority of intelligent legislators, Americans are - for the most part - retaining or regaining the right to defend themselves.

Unfortunately, our friends down under had just the opposite experience. After 15 years of steadily declining deaths by firearms, the Australian government reacted to a massacre committed by one demented gunman in 1996 and started a program that collected and destroyed more than 640,000 guns.

Since then, statistics from official Australian government sources, as well as many articles published by Aussie newspapers, document a steady across-the-board increase in violent crimes. What else would you expect? Now, in Australia, only the bad guys have guns.

This is strong evidence that a vetted, trained and tested citizenry with permits to carry concealed weapons is a significant deterrent to violent crime. The facts show that here, at least, we're moving in the right direction.

But, in Virginia, we have a flaw in our gun law that disallows concealed carry anywhere that alcoholic beverages are sold and consumed. That means we have to shed our weapons before going into most restaurants, and even some cafeterias and coffee shops.

The law already prohibits anybody from carrying concealed who is imbibing. If we removed that restriction, your designated driver could also be your designated defender.

Keep this is mind: Sensible gun control means hitting what you aim for.