THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 28, 1995 TAG: 9507270003
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Before June 30, any Virginian could carry a firearm openly and, upon demonstration of need and good character, receive a permit to carry the weapon concealed. Some 8,000 Virginians already had these permits.
As of July 1, the law changed to make it easier for Virginians to carry hidden guns. Experience in other states that have passed similarly relaxed concealed-weapons laws suggest that the number of permittees in Virginia could rise to more than 80,000 within the next few years.
Patrons of the new law worked to change public policy in the belief that concealed-weapons permits promote personal protection. They ignored the probability that secretly carried weapons increase the odds for accidental shootings and for tragic escalation of arguments. Supporters of the law modeled their bill after Florida's 1987 concealed-weapons law, citing it as responsible for that state's reduced murder rate. True, the number of homicides dropped from 1,368 to 1,187 over a six-year period. But the number of murders by firearm actually went up, from 697 to 800, in the same period. And after six years of the 1987 law, according to the 1993 Uniform Crime Reports, Florida's violent crime is the highest in the country at 1,206 incidents per 100,000 population. The national average is 746.1; Virginia's is 374.9.
While we all seem to agree that seat-belt laws, speed limits, driver education and restrictions on drinking and driving have helped reduce traffic deaths, some of our elected officials are reluctant to be counted among those who oppose drinking and carrying hidden firearms. Governor Allen tried to make it harder to restrict concealed-weapons permits to those convicted of public drunkenness. He even wanted to allow people to carry guns secretly into bars, restaurants and sporting events, where alcohol is sold. Fortunately, with bipartisan support, these two of the governor's amendments were defeated in the April veto session.
Common sense tells us that more guns don't make for safer communities. If safety were measured by the number of privately owned guns in a society, we would be the safest country in the world. Encouraging more secret guns on the streets certainly cannot make our streets safer. We must be reasonable in seeking adequate laws promoting gun responsibility.
I urge all responsible Virginians to insist that records on the issuance of concealed-weapons permits be kept, made available to the public and scrutinized to ensure that all of the disqualifiers of this law are being investigated and met. Let's hold our elected officials responsible for the laws they make for us.
KAYE TICE, education chairman
Virginians Against Handgun Violence
Norfolk, July 15, 1995 by CNB