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Concealed Weapons Terry Wiggins Research 110 Craig Gilbert October 26, 2009 Concealed Weapons Having a concealed weapon permit is a privilege and a right. With that there are those who oppose the civil right to bear arms. There are new legislations trying to be passed so the person with a CCW (concealed weapons permit) will have their name and address on a website for all eyes to see. It’s my opinion that it is our constitutional right to bear arms and hold a CCW without everyone knowing about it. Why would people oppose the right to bear arms' The Brady Campaign is one of the largest opponents for gun control and acquiring a CCW. The Brady Campaign had an outside research facility called The Violence Policy Center do some research on the repercussions of having a CCW. VPC is a nonprofit educational organization that conducts research and public education on violence in America. Their findings were eye opening with the amount of CCW holders having used their weapon to take another person’s life or their own. The report showed the number of deaths from May 2007 through April 2009. “In that two year period a total of 56 people were slain. Of those 56 people seven of them were law enforcement and six of them are the shooters themselves who committed suicide before being arrested” (Violence policy center, 2009). With these findings the Brady Campaign is trying to make it harder to obtain a CCW. I know from firsthand experience that it is an easy process to acquire a CCW. Easy in the way that I haven’t been arrested or been convicted of a crime of domestic violence. It took me about four to five months to acquire my CCW. Because I live in Washington County, I had to go to the Washington County Sheriff’s office to find out what I needed to do so I could carry a handgun legally. The response I received was I needed to take a gun safety course and then bring back a certificate of completion of that safety course. This has to be acknowledged through the NRA (National Rifle Association) as a reliable course. I personally liked this part because I learned some facts about having a CCW and I was able to go shooting on a range with certified instructors to show them I had the knowledge and control of a handgun. After that there were still a number of requirements that I had to do before I, could get my CCW. At the Washington County Sheriff’s office there is a room that deals with applicants who are trying to obtain their CCW. There is a list of requirements that the applicant needs to bring or complete before the process can begin. This is that process to qualify for a concealed handgun license you must: • be at least 21 years of age • be a US citizen or have proof of application with intent to become a citizen • never have been convicted of a disqualifying crime of domestic violence • never have been convicted of a felony • not have been convicted of a misdemeanor in the last four years • not be a registered sex offender • not have been convicted of more than one drug-related crime • pay appropriate fees • provide written documentation that demonstrates that you have taken a handgun safety course • Pass a background check (, n.d.) This is the process that the 11,100 citizens of Washington County that have a valid CCW had to go through. Now there are some citizens out there that want this information to become public knowledge. This all started back in November 2008 when a “school teacher wanted to bring her handgun to school for protection of her ex-husband. The school district said no guns allowed and then it went to court in Jackson County. The court ordered the Sheriff’s office to release a list of all concealed weapons holders to a Medford newspaper” (Gun reports, 2008). Sheriff Rob Gordon sent a letter to all the residents in his county who have a CCW to explain what had happened and that he might have to release the same information just like down in Jackson County. I know I signed and sent back a letter saying that for my protection and the protection of my family, I do not want my name and address released to the press. I believe this is just the first step on signaling out a certain group of people to have some of their rights taken away. This happened in Australia when the government thought it would be a good idea to take the guns away from law abiding citizens. What happened was that the law abiding citizens listened to the government and turned in all their guns. However, the criminals who aren’t supposed to have guns at all kept theirs. Now the crime rate has increased and the government doesn’t understand why since they removed all of the guns' Well it’s easy to see what happened the criminals are now running free and committing more crimes because they don’t have the fear of being shot by someone with a gun because they were turned in. “In 12 months after having to turn in their weapons Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2%, Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6% ,Australia-wide, armed-robberies are up 44% (yes, FORTY-FOUR PERCENT) , in the state of Victoria, homicides-with-firearms are up 300%” (Tidswell, n.d.). That is a huge increase of crime and why we need to keep our 2nd amendment right to bear arms and keep the information private knowledge. In conclusion everyone has the right to speak their opinion on gun control or if people should be allowed to conceal their guns. However, who has the right to take away our rights as Americans to bear arms' If we as a civilization try to create a policy on taking away guns to prevent crime, more crime is what we are going to get. Just look at the numbers from Australia and see how that would have the opposite effect of what the Australian government was trying to accomplish. If we as a nation decides that having a handgun or rifle is a crime and choose to pass a bill saying we need to turn in all the weapons we are going to see an increase in crime. References (n.d.). . Retrieved October 26, 2009, from http://www.co.washington.or.us/sheriff/service/ccw.htm Gun reports (2008). Oregon state court may force release of concealed carry licensee information. Retrieved October 26, 2009, from http://www.gunreports.com Tidswell, K. (n.d.). Australia. Retrieved October 26, 2009, from http://www.geoffmetcalf.com/aus.html Violence policy center. (2009). Law enforcement and private citizens killed by concealed handgun permit holders (Violence policy center). Washington D.C.: Violence Policy Center.