ABC's Concealed Carry 'Experiment'

In this post I will address some of the issues I see with ABC's experiment that is shown above. Looking at this study from a researcher's point of view, it's evident ABC made some mistakes. ABC took any student willing to participate in the study. To my knowledge, none of the students in the experiment actually possessed a concealed carry permit. This is important information because not everyone is comfortable handling a handgun. The students in the experiment didn't have practice withdrawing their pistol from their holsters. Opponents of CCW, concealed carry weapons, will debate that these students had no more experience than is necessary to obtain a CCW. That's true, but it is not the only factor to consider. Most of the people who obtain a CCW are avid gun enthusiasts. These are the kinds of people who collect, shoot, and know guns. They are extremely comfortable around firearms and know how to use them; they are not your average college student. Secondly, the whole point of having a concealed firearm is no one knows you have it. In this experiment the active shooter, who is also a trained police officer, knows exactly where the student with the concealed pistol is. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a concealed carry and, therefore, nullify the whole experiment? In conclusion, this experiment placed a student (18-22 years old) with little firearms experiment, against a trained police officer, who knew exactly where the CCW student was in the classroom. An extremely skewed experiment that was designed for one result: concealed carry permits cause more harm than good. I guarantee a real life scenario would result in much different results. If ABC would like to reevaluate their experiment and do it again I have a few suggestions. First, get a student how already has a CCW to see how someone with an actual CCW does. This experiment was performed on a college campus. What ABC didn't address was the requirements for a CCW. One has to be at least 21 years old with no prior felonies or convictions. That automatically disqualifies about 50% of students currently attending a higher education school. This experiment should be performed by students who actually qualify to have a CCW, i.e. upperclassmen, faculty and staff. Second, how many times is the shooter a police officer with years of firearm experience? The shooter should fit the personality profile of a school shooter who, more likely than not, has minimal experience with a firearm. Third, the shooter should not be aware there is a threat in the classroom. That is to say, the shooter should not know there is someone else in the classroom with a firearm. Those few changes will transform the whole dynamic of the experiment. The experiment will be more practical and have real life results.