Criminals in 'Shall-Issue' States

I have no doubt in my mind that concealed carry laws save lives. There is a great deal of research that has been conducted for both sides of the argument ‘do gun laws save lives.’ There is evidence to support claims that “shall-issue” states, states that issue concealed carry permits, deter violent crime. In the book Evaluating Gun Policy, authors Jens Ludwig and Phillip Cook suggest that criminals in states where concealed carry laws are implemented will move to states where concealed carry laws are not implemented to commit their crimes. This finding makes complete sense if we look at this from a criminal’s perspective. Criminals only attack victims whom they perceive as weak or easy targets. If there is a chance the criminal’s victim is armed than the chance an attack will happen will drastically decrease. Later in the book, the authors use a study performed by David Olsen and Michael Maltz using 1977-1992 data. The study supported claims that concealed carry laws reduce homicides. The study showed that firearm related homicides fell by twenty percent. However, at the same time non-firearm related homicides rose by ten percent. Opponents of concealed carry laws will fixate on the increase in non-firearm related homicides in their arguments against concealed carry laws. However, most of the people who look at the overall decrease of ten percent in all homicides will support concealed carry laws. I will close this post with some food for thought. If you were going to commit a crime, would you commit that crime if you knew the victim was going to be armed?

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Q05iNEB7egQC&oi=fnd&pg=PA287&dq=Concealed+Carry+Laws&ots=Mj3-a1u9Nd&sig=3dh92gQ1O2Prt2iyb24rSBApysk#v=onepage&q=Concealed%20Carry%20Laws&f=false


Ludwig, Jens, and Philip J. Cook. Evaluating Gun Policy: Effects on Crime and Violence. 
          Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 2003. Print.