6 states.
Alaska
Arizona
Kansas
Vermont
Wyoming
???
Arkansas
Thanks
You already have this situation with open carry. An officer can ask an OCer about their activity, but if that subject tells him to pound sand, what are they going to do about it? Detain someone not breaking the law? If you have cops detaining people not breaking the law please tell me where, I’ll fly up tonight. I could use some extra money.
This ties in to the constitutional carry topic. Nobody has yet to give a plausible explanation why a license or permit should be required to carry concealed in public, when open carry does not. What changes when one hides their weapon that a permission slip from the government is required?
Evidently at some point in history someone thought there was an important enough distinction between the two. Prohibitions on concealing weapons have been around since the early to mid 1800’s in the USA, according to Wikipedia. I have no idea what the rationale was for it back then. Perhaps there is a historian in our midst that might shed some light on the justifications.
This may not be the entire answer, but from what I’ve read in the past men who hid their weapons were considered cowards. Their intent of use of the weapon was concealed and it was cowardly not to let people know you were armed. Someone might not have words with you if they knew you had the ability to blast them if they insulted you.
This is just piecing together some things I’ve read and it could be complete B.S…
Historically, permits were a way of discriminating against minorities. Only the “right kind of people” got permits.
I think this is a fallacy, honestly.
I’d worry about liberalization encouraging straw purchasers and smugglers to use Maine as a source of less-regulated firearms.
Constitutional carry has absolutely nothing to do with the sales of firearms.
What specifically is fallacious about it?
Moreover, by what mechanism could a reduction in concealed carry regulations make the purchase of firearms easier? Do you know what constitutional concealed carry is?
Let’s put some facts into this debate. Since you mention smugglers, I’m going to assume that you’re referring to guns illegally brought into Mexico. The distance from the nearest point in Maine to Mexico is about 1,900 miles as the crow flies and longer by car. That’s farther than any other point in the entire continental United States. Moreover, we can look at an actual source on how many guns Maine exports to Mexico per year. (PDF) Get ready, because it’s a pretty big number: .3 guns per 100,000 residents, or a whopping 4 guns per year.
Let’s summarize this issue. For one, what Maine is proposing doing could not possibly have any effect on straw purchases. Second, it is less attractive to smuggle guns from Maine to Mexico than any other point in the continental United States. Third, guns smuggled from Maine are a tiny and insignificant amount.
In short, your worries are unfounded.
I admit it’s an indirect effect, but here it is: By making being an owner of a tool designed to kill people more socially acceptable.
Americans move a lot, and a lot of their moves are ideology-influenced, as explained in this wonderful book:
http://www.thebigsort.com/home.php
We both know that many American gun enthusiasts talk about moving to a more gun-friendly state. I’ve read it on web forums, and heard it in real life. For some it’s just talk, but I can’t believe all are blowhards.
Constitutional carry states are frequently listed and hailed by the gun friendly, as can be seen on this thread. So it makes perfect sense for someone like myself – someone who see guns as a public health menace – to hope my state stays off the constitutional carry list.
I don’t know if I would go as far as to call guns a public health menace, but I don’t have much experience with them myself. I’ve never been as much of an outdoorsman as many of my neighbors. I go fishing once in a blue moon, but that’s about it.
That said, most of the “gun nuts” that I have met are not all that into hand-guns. They buy high-powered rifles to shoot bear and moose, and then eat what they shoot. I once took the NRA pistol course, just to see if it was something I could get into, but it just didn’t enthuse me as much as it does others. I still have the goggles and muffs from the class, but never did bother buying a pistol, or any other kind of gun. Still, I have never once turned down venison or moose meat when it has been offered by friends and relatives. That stuff is just plain delicious!
They can keep that greasy bear meat though.
Considering that most of Maine’s gun “culture” has to do with hunting, I’m actually kind of surprised that this kind of bill would pop up here. I realize that some people do actually hunt with handguns, but I would wager more people hunt with bows and arrows, or black powder rifles, than do with handguns. One of the reasons I gave up on them after taking the course was because it was so darn difficult to actually hit the target!
That’s not how statistics work, and without a standard deviation or something you can’t conclude that. For either state. And that says nothing about inhomogeneities within states; California is even lower, do you think that many places in California are incredibly safe?
This says that they are the #1 and #2 safest states. I make no claims to the validity of that site or its methodology; it was just the first link on Google that wasn’t a goddamn slideshow.
You seem to overestimate the ease at which people move or assume that people make decisions on single issues. Or that your state is somehow more attractive than the other 5-6 states, which I will absolutely assume have not gotten a huge influx of immigrants since the laws passed.
Those states also tend to be lower crime and cheaper to live (= more rural, general rule). I would think those would weigh higher on peoples’ decisions.
Thankfully laws aren’t always passed based on feelings or your gut. Constitutional carry thus far doesn’t seem to increase or decrease crime, just like how Colorado didn’t become a hepped up on goofballs hellhole after marijuana legalization. Not saying carry will work identically everywhere, but I would put good money on nothing happening in Maine.
I don’t know this book but it looks like they are talking about the scale of decades, no?
I read those too. And a lot of those are from draconian states like New Jersey and such. In reality all but a handful of states are “gun friendly”, it’s just a matter of degrees.
And Maine becomes the 7th state in the union to recognize constitutional carry.
Originally the bill only applied to those over 21, but the governor said he would veto any bill that didn’t apply to the military as well. It was revised to apply to military 18 years and older and he has signed. This passed with bi-partisan support from a democratically controlled house legislature.
I live in Wyoming. Consitutional carry went into effect here in November 2012.
The latest crime data I can find are from 2013.
For the nine years listed, the year after constitutional carry enactment has the lowest crime index, although not but much. Wyoming continues to have among the highest gun ownership rates and lowest crime rates in the U.S.
In my personal experience, not much changed. Most serious shooters already had permits, and continue to renew them, for two reasons.
- Reciprocity with other states (need a state-issued permit to carry in other states.)
- Saves time when buying new guns from dealers. (If you have a permit, you still have to fill out the federal paperwork, but the dealer doesn’t have to call it in for approval. Dealers love it when you have a permit, calling the feds for purchase approval and waiting is a hassle.)
Almost everyone I know in Wyoming is a “gun-person” to some extent, but a lot of that is more for hunting than for self defense. A lot of these people aren’t even aware that they no longer need a permit to carry concealed. They’re happy when I tell them.
Are you sure about this part? I have bought a couple of guns in Ohio since I got my CCW permit, and the dealer called it in to NICS both times, and both times the approval took less than a minute.
Yes.
Every time I’ve purchased a gun from an FFL in Wyoming and produced my CCW permit, the response has been positive, ranging from “Good, that makes things easier” to “Bless you, my son.”
Back in my pre-CCW days, I never recall the NICs check taking less than a minute. More like 15-30 minutes. I recall wandering around the guns shop, smoking cigarettes, etc., to kill time.
My buddy used to get “delayed” as often as not. The general understanding then was that some criminal had the same name as him. By law, I think they have up to three days for an outright denial - if that doesn’t come, you get to buy the gun. What sucked was the gun shop with the best selection/lowest prices in our area was more than an hour’s drive away. So we’d go to the shop, my buddy would try to buy a gun, and get denied. So he’d have to come back the following weekend to actually take possession of the gun.
Maybe it’s better now. Not sure - I got my first CCW in 2001. Michigan also had the NICs exemption.
Thanks. Ohio is not on the list. I guess I have been lucky as far as NICS checks go. Mine have been quick.