[http://www.portal.com/~chan/ccw/stat ftp://ftp.shell.portal.com/pub/chan/ccw/stat] Date: Fri, 18 Nov 1994 09:55:03 -0500 To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com From: David.T.Wisniewski@cc.gettysburg.edu (David T. Wisniewski) Subject: CARRYING CONCEALED FIREARMS (CCW) STATISTICS CARRYING CONCEALED FIREARMS (CCW) STATISTICS Violent crime rates are highest overall in states with laws severely limiting or prohibiting the carrying of concealed firearms for self-defense. (FBI Uniform Crime Reports, 1992) - The total Violent Crime Rate is 26% higher in the restrictive states (798.3 per 100,000 pop.) than in the less restrictive states (631.6 per 100,000). - The Homicide Rate is 49% higher in the restrictive states (10.1 per 100,000) than in the states with less restrictive CCW laws (6.8 per 100,000). - The Robbery Rate is 58% higher in the restrictive states (289.7 per 100,000) than in the less restrictive states (183.1 per 100,000). - The Aggravated Assault Rate is 15% higher in the restrictive states (455.9 per 100,000) than in the less restrictive states (398.3 per 100,000). Using the most recent FBI data (1992), homicide trends in the 17 states with less restrictive CCW laws compare favorably against national trends, and almost all CCW permittees are law-abiding. - Since adopting CCW (1987), Florida's homicide rate has fallen 21% while the U.S. rate has risen 12%. From start-up 10/1/87 - 2/28/94 (over 6 yrs.) Florida issued 204,108 permits; only 17 (0.008%) were revoked because permittees later committed crimes (not necessarily violent) in which guns were present (not necessarily used). - Of 14,000 CCW licensees in Oregon, only 4 (0.03%) were convicted of the criminal (not necessarily violent) use or possession of a firearm. Americans use firearms for self-defense more than 2.1 million times annually. - By contrast, there are about 579,000 violent crimes committed annually with firearms of all types. Seventy percent of violent crimes are committed by 7% of criminals, including repeat offenders, many of whom the courts place on probation after conviction, and felons that are paroled before serving their full time behind bars. - Two-thirds of self-protective firearms uses are with handguns. - 99.9% of self-defense firearms uses do not result in fatal shootings of criminals, an important factor ignored in certain "studies" that are used to claim that guns are more often misused than used for self-protection. - Of incarcerated felons surveyed by the Department of Justice, 34% have been driven away, wounded, or captured by armed citizens; 40% have decided against committing crimes for fear their would-be victims were armed. OTHER CCW FACTS With adoption of CCW by Arizona, Tennessee and Wyoming in early 1994, 19 states have CCW laws requiring the issuance of permits to carry concealed firearms for self-defense to citizens who meet fair and reasonable state standards. Vermont, which ranks near the bottom in violent crime rates year-in and year-out, allows firearms to be carried concealed without a permit. In recent years NRA successfully fought for the adoption of favorable CCW laws now on the books in Florida (1987), Idaho (1990, amended 1991), Mississippi (1990), Montana (1991), and Oregon (1990). In recent legislative sessions, proposals for similar CCW laws have progressed in Alaska, Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Anti-gun forces oppose CCW with a variety of arguments, ranging from deliberate misrepresentations of commonly available crime data to "studies" pretending to show that private ownership of firearms leads to death and injury rather than providing protection to the owner. 1. Firearms ownership opponents claim that "violent crime" went up in Florida since that state enacted CCW legislation in 1987, a misleading statement for multiple reasons: - Florida's homicide rate has declined 21% since adopting CCW in 1987. - No comparison of aggravated assault, robbery, and rape (99.3% of Florida violent crimes) beginning before 1988 is valid, according to the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement. In 1988, Florida changed its method of compiling crime statistics. - In Florida, as in the U.S., more than 70% of violent crimes do not involve guns. Violent crime rates, therefore, don't necessarily reflect violent gun-related crime trends. According to the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Reports (1992), nationwide firearms were used in the four violent crimes that make up the total "Violent Crime" category, as follows: Aggravated Assault (58% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in 25%; Robbery (35% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in 41%; Rapes (6% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in an estimated 5%-10% (survey data); and Homicides (1% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in 68%. In Florida: Aggravated Assaults (64% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in 25%; Robberies (30% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in 37%; Rapes (4% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in an estimated 5%-10% (survey data); and Homicides (0.7% of violent crimes) -- firearms used in 61%. 2. Anti-gunners cite "studies" they claim show that firearms kept at home are "43 times more likely" to be used to kill family members than be used for self-defense. (Other "studies" claim different ratios.) The 43:1 claim, based upon a small-scale study of Kings County (Seattle) and Shelby County (Memphis), is a fraud, because it counts as self-defense gun uses only those cases in which criminals were killed in the defender's home. Approximately 99.9% of all defensive gun uses are not fatal shootings, however -- criminals are usually frightened off, held at bay, or non-fatally wounded. Also, many defensive firearms uses occur away from home. Further, suicides were counted as "family member killings" in the "study," elevating that number more than 500%. Unfortunately, some of these "studies" are funded with taxpayer dollars, through grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a division of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. -- This information is presented as a service to the Internet community by the NRA/ILA. Many files are available via anonymous ftp from ftp.nra.org and via WWW at http://www.nra.org Be sure to subscribe to rkba-alert by sending: subscribe rkba-alert Your Full Name as the body of a message to rkba-alert-request@NRA.org Information can also be obtained by connecting to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK BBS at (703) 934-2121. __ Date: Fri, 18 Nov 1994 09:56:47 -0500 To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com From: David.T.Wisniewski@cc.gettysburg.edu (David T. Wisniewski) Subject: With CCW, Florida's Homicide Decreases While National Average Soars With CCW, Florida's Homicide Decreases While National Average Soars Homicide Rates Per 100,000 Pop. AREA 1987* 1992 % CHANGE Florida 11.4 9.0 -21% U.S. 8.3 9.3 +12% Source: U.S. Department of Justice, F.B.I. Uniform Crime Reports * Florida adopted CCW in 1987. CCW Permits in Florida Issuance Rates Population 13,277,000 % of Floridians All - 62.7% Who Own Guns Male - 68.8% Female - 57.3% # of Floridians 8,325,000 Who Own Guns # of Permit Applications 239,411 Permits Issued 227,569 Permits Revoked Due To 18 (0.008%) Crime With Firearm Present During the 6-1/2 year period from 10/01/87 (start-up date) through 05/31/94, 227,569 CCW permits have been issued -- 69% new permits; 31% permit renewals. Less than one-quarter of 1% of permit applications have been rejected due to an applicant's criminal history; less than two-tenths of 1% have been rejected due to an "incomplete application." Two hundred permits (less than one-tenth of 1%) have been revoked because a permit holder committed some kind of a crime, though not necessarily a gun-related or violent crime. Only 18 (less than 0.008%) permits have been revoked because a permit holder committed a crime (not necessarily violent) in which a firearm was present, though not necessarily used. By contrast, the FBI reports that each year there are about 46,000 gun-related violent crimes (assaults, robberies, homicides and rapes) in Florida. Florida CCW Permit Source: Florida Department of State -- This information is presented as a service to the Internet community by the NRA/ILA. Many files are available via anonymous ftp from ftp.nra.org and via WWW at http://www.nra.org Be sure to subscribe to rkba-alert by sending: subscribe rkba-alert Your Full Name as the body of a message to rkba-alert-request@NRA.org Information can also be obtained by connecting to the NRA-ILA GUN-TALK BBS at (703) 934-2121. __ To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com Date: Fri, 18 Nov 94 10:51:52 EST Subject: Statistics on FL CCW experience Sender: firearms-alert-owner@shell.portal.com This was written by: : "Preston K. Covey" The: NRA/ILA Research & Information Division, 1600 Rhode Island Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036 will provide a pamphlet that reprints the following two analyses on the Florida CCW law statistics: Marion Hammer, "Pro-Gun Laws - They Work!" Guns & Ammo, Nov. '91, pp. 22-23 and Gary Kleck, excerpts from his book: "Point Blank: Guns & Violence in America" Both of these are based on the "Concealed Weapons / Firearms License Statistical Report for the Period 10/01/87 - 10/31/91" issued by: Florida Department of State's Division of Licensing P.O. Box 6687, Tallahassee, FL 32314-6687 This one-page report states as follows: 112,528 Applications Received 85,662 New 26,866 Renewal 109,377 Licenses Issued 82,756 New 26,621 Renewal 768 Applications Denied 446 Criminal History 302 Incomplete Application 167 Licenses Revoked 66 Clemency rule change or legislative change 77 Crime after licensure (10 = firearm utilized) 6 Crime prior to licensure (2 = firearm utilized) 10 Illegible prints with no response 8 Other 12 Reinstated (no statistics maintained prior to Jan. '90) ----------- These stats are the sum total of the report ------------ What this amounts to is the following good news: 167 licenses revoked = .15% (one-sixth of 1%) of licenses issued i.e. 15 in 10,000 licenses were revoked 77 licenses revoked for a crime after licensure = .07% (seven hundreths of 1%) i.e. only 7 in 10,000 licenses were revoked for a crime 10 licenses revoked for crime with a gun = .009% i.e. less than 1 in 10,000 licenses were revoked for a crime with a gun See Hammer and Kleck references (above) for more analysis. -- Larry Cipriani, l.v.cipriani@att.com or attmail!lcipriani __ Date: Fri, 18 Nov 1994 08:50:04 -0800 (PST) From: "Edgar A. Suter" To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com Subject: CCW data For the latest CCW data, call the Independence Institute at 303-279-6536 to obtain their newest study: Cramer, Clayton and Kopel, David. "Shall Issue": The New Wave in Concealed Handgun Licensure. The monograph includes state-by-state, California county-by-county, and matched pair crime trend studies. Also included is a bonus discussion of self-defense scripture.D.I.R.P.P. supports the right of people to defend themselves, including the right to defend themslves outside their homes. ************************************************************************* * Edgar A. Suter, MD suter@crl.com * * Chair, DIRPP Doctors for Integrity in Research & Public Policy * *************************************************************************