Anti-gun zealots claimed Right to Carry or Constitutional Carry would lead to massive rise in crime-more murders. The evidence doesn’t show that.
“‘Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?’
‘To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.’
‘The dog did nothing in the night-time.’
‘That was the curious incident,’ remarked Sherlock Holmes.’”
Exchange between Inspector Gregory & Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Silver Blaze
The week before Christmas I went to a coffee shop and it got me thinking.
No, it was not the shot of caffeine (I did need that, but not for what I’m writing on). I walked up to the counter, and there was one customer already. We looked at each for a second, and he turned back to the clerk.
As is my practice, I did a once over on the man. Like many police officers, our habits are to look at people, and I look top to bottom. Black male, about 6-2, 250 lbs, mid-60s, gray Afro hair, clean shaven, male pattern baldness, tan pants and long sleeve yellowish shirt. Overall appearance of a retiree. Semi-automatic pistol, back in color, in right hip holster.
And I wasn’t concerned.
A brief history of Texas law on firearms. When I moved here in 1998, the law was long guns could be carried openly, but pistols could not be carried unless you had a concealed carry permit. And then they had to be concealed. There was an open question because you could not legally carry a pistol in your automobile, but you could carry long guns, e.g., a rifle rack on the back of a truck cab. We used to tell people when going to the range just put them in the trunk unloaded.
In 2007, the law was changed to allow people to carry pistols in their car, without a permit. I remember a friend on the force worried about this, “The bad guys will carry guns in their cars now…” I pointed out the bad guys already did, they did not obey the law, that’s why they are called “bad guys.”
Next we started to allow citizens to apply for a Concealed Carry Permit and the standard was changed to “shall issue,” not may issue. Unless there were issues prohibiting possession of firearms (e.g., convicted felons, domestic violence), the state must issue the license. In 2015, Texas allowed people with a CHL to openly carry, with certain restrictions (e.g., no in liquor stores, churches, schools).
When this became the law, I first believed I would have to deal with citizens wanting to show off, walking around with a pistol and daring cops to challenge them. Then in a month or so, they would get it out of their system and go back to hiding their pistols. To my surprise, since 2015, this gentleman from last month makes perhaps five open carry holders I’ve encountered.
Personally, outside of uniform, I would never openly carry a firearm. If something happens at a gas station or restaurant, I don’t want the gunman to know I have a weapon. Him seeing me with a pistol insures I’m target number one.
Finally, in September 2021, Texas went to Constitutional Carry, allowing citizens who can legally possess a pistol to openly carry. It must be secured in a holster and businesses may forbid entry with a sign at the entrance (30.06 for no concealed carry, 30.07 for no open carry).
The result? Texas has had a significant increase in gun crime over the last 5 years. But none of this has been tired to Constitutional Carry. More likely is has been the result of bail “reform” and lack of enforcement of current weapons and violent crime laws but looking at the research, the evidence is uncertain. From a RAND Corporation study:
Summary: Evidence that shall-issue concealed-carry laws may increase violent crime is limited. Evidence for the effect of shall-issue laws on total homicides, firearm homicides, robberies, assaults, and rapes is inconclusive.
The research from the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) show no correlation between Constitutional Carry and violent crime (full disclosure, this report is only a few months after Texas adopted Constitutional Carry). So “research” is not showing a massive crime wave after loosening gun laws.
How else do I know our current crime wave is not caused by less restrictions on open gun carry? I draw your attention to the curious incident of the reports in the media? You may say there are no reports, and that is the curious incident. There is no conclusive, or even plausible scientific evidence this has cause more violent crime. If there was a slight possible connection, or causation, it would be on the cover of every liberal news source in his country.
While there is screaming about the cause of violent crime in general, and gun crime specifically, there is not documented evidence Shall Issue or Constitutional Carry laws increases the use of firearms in crime. Simply put, citizens exercising their right to keep and bear arms don’t go around robbing people. The criminals, a significant portion of whom cannot legally carry firearms (felony conviction, domestic violence conviction, bond/parole term, etc.), will continue to use guns for criminal acts. And no amount of restraining the use of guns by the law abiding public will stop that.
Michael A. Thiac is a retired Army intelligence officer, with over 23 years experience, including serving in the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the Middle East. He is also a retired police patrol sergeant, with over 22 years’ service, and over ten year’s experience in field training of newly assigned officers. He has been published at The American Thinker, PoliceOne.com, and on his personal blog, A Cop’s Watch.
Opinions expressed are his alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of current or former employers.
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The only effective thing to prevent criminals from using firearms in violent crime is to make the judicial system punish those who do use guns in crime, by not playing games with no-bail and giving them the assurance that they will be in prison for a long time if they do commit crimes with firearms.
Given longer research, I think it will show that that is the only thing that will be effective. Certainty of consequence is what makes people think before doing wrong. It’s always been that way. Those who are letting criminals out of jail must have another intent, and should not be in the position to do that.
The recidivism rate of DEAD CRIMINALS is still 0%.
The Riverside County CA Sheriff’s Office lost a deputy last week. The good news is after taking cops on a long pursuit, the murderer was permanently rehabilitated by the law, no expense of trial, etc.
But apparently this POS was released in spite of California’s Three Strike Law, and Sheriff Chad Bianco is pissed at the judge who let this waste of sperm out.
“According to Bianco, McKay had been convicted of a “third strike” offense last year that should have put him in state prison for 25 years to life, but a San Bernardino County judge lowered his bail, allowing his release, and later released him following an arrest for failing to appear at his sentencing.”
https://abc7.com/riverside-county-sheriffs-department-chad-bianco-suspect-william-shae-mckay/12635454/
I’m from Houston, and the last time we had a serious crime problem was late 80s/early 90s. It took the murder of a VIP (local, can’t remember his name, but was murdered in front of his house) to shock the locals and demand action. Hundreds of cops were hired, a massive amount of overtime was approved to put men on the street, and the judges got serious about sending criminals to jail. As a result, crime dropped. Unfortunately cities/towns/counties around this country will need a similar incident until people say, “ENOUGH!”
I’ve commented in other posts how Houston used to have a functional judicial system. One way to insure you don’t get bail, be charged with murder. Now we’ve had defendants on bail pending trial for capital murder committing another murder. What a shock.
The Texas Legislature is considering a proposal to add an automatic 10 years for anyone who uses a gun in any crime. God willing it will pass, take any discretion out of the hands of the judges.
I always had the opinion a public hanging in a public place would go along ways to teach would-be murders what would happen to them not what might. Now I’m talking where they confess or there is no doubt the person is guilty of murder. Example : Joe tries to rob a bank kill three people and is shot by the police on site. No deals for a reduced sentence full public trial with in a week followed by a week for appeals and trap door drops. People would look a lot different at murder if they know in 2 weeks or so they would hang in public for it. The delaying of punishment is the same as no punishment for many. Life in prison for some mean they get to see friends and eat three times a day with a warm bed, not much of a punishment for them and complain about what is on the TV or how long they get to “walk the yard.” A very fitting punishment for those 100% guilty.
“Justice delayed is Justice denied” applies to criminals as well as victims!
Isn’t there already a federal law of an automatic 10 yr sentence for use of a gun in a crime? I haven’t noticed it being used at all. If it were actually used it would put a lot of people off the streets and into prison.
I think a crime committed in Texas, tried by a Texas court, would have no use for a federal law, like that, if it does exist. There are things that the federal government has no say in the matter, and if it is a law, it is going to be used by federal prosecutors, in federal crimes.
I might change my mind if the federal government decides to ever get back to protecting the people, and not themselves. We already have enough of a problem with the federal government imposing hate crimes on top of states who prosecute and fail to convict. Using a federal law that automatically induces a 10 year sentence seems like another version of that hate crime nonsense.
And no amount of restraining the use of guns by the law abiding public will stop that.
Actually, I would argue that restraining law abiding citizens increases crime. If the criminal is affirmed that he will not be shot back at, he will become very emboldened to do his crimes, as there is nobody to stop him anymore.
Do I want to rob Group A, where a few might have a gun and kill me, or Group B, where I KNOW they don’t have guns on them?
Don’t worry. The data backs up your argument. See anything written on the subject, by John R. Lott, and several others who have done the digging.
An Armed society is a polite society only as long as individuals act socially.
I never carry open as it tends to draw attention, prefer the (if needed) element of suprise
Soft judges on cases involving hard criminals is what makes things evil for society at large. America would be far better and safer if this was corrected, and the criminals held and even executed to stop these predations upon their fellow man.
The huge surge in homicides in Philadelphia led to another surge, a dramatic increase in the number of people applying for concealed carry permits in the City of Brotherly Love. The left were aghast, of course, but the number of homicides decreased from 562 in 2021 to 516 in 2022.
Back in the 80s there was a small city in Georgia, if memory serves, that required homeowners to possess a firearm. The usual suspects screamed about the upcoming surge of murders, etc. Actually, crime went down.
Hell, Switzerland requires its adults to have weapons in their homes, and they don’t have crime waves like America’s Democratically controlled cities. I wonder why?
Kennesaw, wasn’t it?