Blackmoor Vituperative

In July of 2009, the anti-civil-rights group called the “Violence Policy Center” published a report stating, among other things, that “Concealed handgun permit holders killed at least seven police officers and 44 private citizens in 31 incidents during the period May 2007 through April 2009”. [1]

This is phrased in a way to elicit fear and panic. However, if these statistics are accurate, it means that concealed handgun permit holders commit murders at a rate that is 1/10th that of the general public. [2] Furthermore, while there are currently more police and more people with concealed carry permits than ever before, the rate of police killed on duty is at a 50 year low. As Craig Floyd, chairman of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, said, “There are three-times more officers on our streets than in the 1970s, and we have half the number of fatalities.” So, even if these numbers are accurate, are they a cause for alarm? Not at all.

However, the fact is that these statistics are not accurate. For example, Michael C. Iheme of Minnesota, who killed his wife in July of 2008, is cited in the VPC report as being one of these murderous concealed carry permit holders. In fact, he did not have a concealed carry permit, and in fact had never even applied for one. [3] In other cases, the VPC report includes a death by strangling, and another which was caused by an accidental discharge. The report is rife with sloppy methodology and factual errors.

There are two main issues here. First, self defense is a basic civil right, no less than freedom of religion or freedom of speech. Second, law-abiding citizens who are armed are a strong deterrent to crime. [4] The Violence Policy Center is anti-civil rights, and pro-crime.