Permitting concealed weapon carry for citizens without criminal records

¶ … citizen who does not have a criminal record should be permitted to carry a concealed weapon.

Permission to carry concealed weapons

In democratic countries, citizens with no criminal record have the right to carry concealed weapons for their own good. It is indispensable for a law abiding citizen to become familiar with all requirements needed by the residential state before applying for a concealed weapons permit. In the United States, candidates must be twenty one years old and legal citizens or residents of any given state with a valid state identification card or a driver's license. Different states further have other requirements that must be fulfilled, for example, in the state of Texas, the permit is given to citizens with no criminal record after they undergo a safety course and the candidates qualify at the range Wellford, John Pepper and Carol 116.

This paper supports the claim that any citizen who does not hold a criminal record can be allowed to poses a concealed weapon because of overwhelming benefits to the weapon carrier and the public in general.

Discussion

A concealed weapon permit is for the benefit of the general public because criminals are discouraged from attacking someone. When citizen with no criminal records are allowed to carry concealed weapons, research show that crime for example homicide, rapes and robberies are reduced by an 8.5%, 5% and 3% respectively Lott 234.

Citizens who carry concealed weapons also enjoy the right to feel safe when they go outside at night or places that are otherwise considered as risky areas because they have the means to defend themselves. The debate about students in schools carrying concealed guns on the university grounds has stirred debates with those against citing the risk of fellow students while those for the law stating that student would be able to defend themselves following the recent rise in murder incidences of students Bohn 1.

For citizen owning cars also have the right to carry concealed weapons so as to defend themselves against carjackers who may also have other intentions of harming the car owner. The above reasons support the claims that law abiding citizens should be granted concealed weapons for the purposes of self-defense.

Supporting evidence to the claim that citizens with no criminal record can posses a concealed weapon is the findings of research carried out within counties of the same state. If an individual shows a concealed weapon to a criminal, the individual becomes a threat and deterring further advances of the criminal. Wellford, John Pepper and Carol 120.

If criminals and proprietors of tragedies such as massacres in a certain part of the globe such as Rwanda were aware that innocent people had the means of defending themselves, the tragedies would have not happened because it would have not been easy.

The concealed weapon law is also a policy that reduces multiple victims shooting. In addition, law abiding citizen come in contact with criminals more frequently than the police and are therefore able to gun them down and reduce the level of crime as well as the criminals. Research in the state of Vermont that has the least preventive gun laws has a low rate of aggressive crime. Murder rates are low in areas where most women carry concealed weapons Siegel 43.

The weapons are more comfortable to carry and can be carried in the midst of people without arousing any intimidating reactions.

Conclusion