# No permit needed in Maine to pack **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 10, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719 "2015-07-10T01:01:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cornopean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cornopean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornopean)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/1 "2015-07-10T01:01:48Z")
Great idea. Expect crime to drop rather sharply in Maine. > **[Maine residents can soon carry a hidden gun without a permit - The Boston Globe](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/07/09/maine-residents-can-soon-carry-hidden-gun-without-permit/x17mESGeIduQNdxgfXwmFO/story.html)** > > It’s a huge victory for gun-rights advocates who have long fought to get rid of the permit requirement. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/2 "2015-07-10T01:17:27Z")
First - this was mentioned in [this thread here.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=756020) Second - it’s premature to think this would have a causal effect on crime. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/3 "2015-07-10T02:03:08Z")
> [@cornopean](#): > > Expect crime to drop rather sharply in Maine. Why on earth should I expect that? I don’t suppose you’d have any evidence to show me? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/4 "2015-07-10T02:04:45Z")
Also…“to _pack_?” Seriously? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/5 "2015-07-10T02:22:43Z")
Finally! That squalid, crime-ridden cesspool has hope! ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/6 "2015-07-10T03:05:34Z")
> [@](#): > > No permit needed in Maine to pack I believe you could always [pack](https://www.google.com/search?q=pictures+of+packing&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ajafVYLLLYWmyQTG2qSYBg&ved=0CCQQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=969) in Maine, with or without a permit. ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/7 "2015-07-10T04:55:08Z")
Maine isn’t the first state to do this. Has crime dropped “rather sharply” (or at all) in other states which have legalized concealed carry without a permit? I live in one of them and I don’t think it has. It seems to me that a populace which supports the passing of such a law is already gun friendly and well armed. I know here there was much high-fiving about protecting second amendment rights and sending a message to Washington but the kind of law abiding firearm enthusiasts who would carry daily without criminal motives already had permits. The only real change to the law (here, in Arizona) is that now you don’t have to attend an 8 hour course or demonstrate basic marksmanship to carry a concealed weapon. Putting firearms into the hands of untrained citizens with unknown proficiency doesn’t seem like much of a criminal deterrent. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/8 "2015-07-10T13:08:43Z")
Maine has one of the lowest, if not THE lowest, violent crime rates in the United States of America. More Maine residents have been murdered in Stephen King’s novels than have been murdered in real life. It’s not, in any statistically meaningful way, going to get any lower. ---
**Author:** ![Hiker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3be4f8/32.png) [@Hiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hiker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/9 "2015-07-10T13:16:37Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Maine has one of the lowest, if not THE lowest, violent crime rates in the United States of America. More Maine residents have been murdered in Stephen King’s novels than have been murdered in real life. It’s not, in any statistically meaningful way, going to get any lower. According to [this](https://www.census.gov/statab/ranks/rank21.html)Maine had 116 violent crimes per 100,000 population in 2006, which indeed puts it at the bottom of the list. Couldn’t find any more recent statistics. (How many people Stephen King killed in 2006 I do not know.) ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/10 "2015-07-10T14:32:47Z")
> [@Hiker](#): > > According to [this](https://www.census.gov/statab/ranks/rank21.html)Maine had 116 violent crimes per 100,000 population in 2006, which indeed puts it at the bottom of the list. Couldn’t find any more recent statistics. > (How many people Stephen King killed in 2006 I do not know.) Well, the original Stand took place in the 1980’s, but it was republished taking place in the 90’s. So, if you figure that 99.9991% of the population died in Maine in the story, then figure out how many people would be in the area (I’m guessing pretty low), then postulated that there might be a death or two, then you are probably going to get a higher figure than 116 per 100,000 population…so, could be that more would die in Stephen King books in 2006 than real life Maine. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/11 "2015-07-10T14:58:48Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Also…“to _pack_?” Seriously? A parachute? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/12 "2015-07-10T15:00:46Z")
Some quick googling indicates that after Arizona instituted constitutional carry in 2010, the number of violent crimes went up by the size of a gnat’s ass-hair. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/13 "2015-07-10T15:02:23Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Also…“to _pack_?” Seriously? You know; to pack _heat_. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/14 "2015-07-10T15:22:00Z")
Ohhhh! Like, a rod? Or a gat? A roscoe? “Dangle it buster, and take your chippy with you, or I’ll squirt ya fulla lead with my bean-shooter here!” ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/15 "2015-07-10T15:28:13Z")
At last, you can take that summer trip to see Grandma without all the bureaucracy. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/16 "2015-07-10T15:53:08Z")
I was guessing from the thread title that it was about backpacking across the border from/to Canada, but alas it’s just another gun thread. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/17 "2015-07-10T15:56:22Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > You know; to pack _heat_. Well, if I were heading for Maine most of the year, I’d want to pack heat. Damn cold up there. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/18 "2015-07-14T02:28:23Z")
So if crime happens to go up slightly in Maine, will the OP acknowledge this and rethink his position? ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/19 "2015-07-14T18:15:33Z")
How much violent crime do you think there is in Maine? I mean, it’s not Chicago, Miami, New York, or LA. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719/20 "2015-07-14T18:31:00Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > How much violent crime do you think there is in Maine? > > I mean, it’s not Chicago, Miami, New York, or LA. When you say “New York”, I assume you mean Buffalo, NY, since NYC is quite low for American cities as far as crime goes. I think it’s lower than Buffalo in every measure of violent crime (per capita, of course). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-permit-needed-in-maine-to-pack/724719.md?page=2)