12/20/11 States loosen concealed carry gun laws, USA TODAY

[mjp28]

States loosen concealed carry gun laws, stir debate

By Elizabeth Crisp, USA TODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...gun/52082424/1

JACKSON, Miss. – A Mississippi resident who receives a concealed carry permit and takes an eight-hour course can now carry a gun on college campuses, in bars and in courthouses.

As of this summer, Wyoming residents need no permits for concealed weapons. And in Indiana, private businesses must allow employees to keep firearms in their vehicles on company property.

Those and other recent changes on the state level represent a growing shift toward loosening state gun regulations, according to University of Chicago professor Jens Ludwig.

"When you look across the states, they are definitely moving in the direction of allowing concealed weapons in more locations," Ludwig says.

Supporters of the trend see it as a boost for gun rights. The National Rifle Association tracks the legislation online and has praised the new state laws.

Others say the trend could pose a threat to public safety.

"The gun lobby won't stop," says Brian Malte, of the Washington, D.C.-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Malte described the way he sees the trend for the past 10 years: guns "anytime, any place and for anyone."

Proponents of the shift say they are just trying to give law-abiding citizens a way to protect themselves.

"Somebody who's disturbed or a crook — they're not going to care (if it's illegal to carry a gun in certain locations)," says Mississippi state Rep. Greg Snowden, a Republican who was one of three authors of an amendment that paved the way for the new policy here.

Alaska, Arizona and Vermont, like Wyoming, do not require permits for concealed guns, according to the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action.

Lawmakers in Colorado and Utah made similar proposals, but those bills died during the states' most recent legislative sessions, legislative records show.

Florida this year passed a law that would prevent pediatricians from asking about guns in patients' homes, according to the NRA legislation tracker. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the measure. Doctors found in violation would have lost their medical licenses and faced fines of up to $10,000, according to the law that was passed.

University of Mississippi Police Chief Calvin Sellers says he supports the right to own firearms, but he still thinks Mississippi's newest policy could be a "bad law."

"I just don't like the idea of people having firearms in a classroom," he says.

There have been several high-profile campus shootings in recent years, most notably the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting that killed 33 people and injured 25, and the shooting there earlier this month in which a campus police officer was killed by a gunman who subsequently killed himself.

Aside from the high-profile cases, David Burnett, spokesman for a national student-led group that supports concealed carry laws for college campuses, says he thinks allowing students to carry guns can help in situations of sexual assault, armed robbery or other crimes.

"This isn't just about the rare college shooting incidents," he says.

[Spartan198]

The only part of this I really don't agree with is allowing concealed carry in courtrooms, but I'm open to any opinions as to why I could be wrong.

Florida this year passed a law that would prevent pediatricians from asking about guns in patients' homes

How is that even relevant to a pediatrician's job?

[Excalibur]

Don't like guns in classrooms? Whoever said that is stupid. Those school shootings happen regardless if there is a law or not for guns allowed on campus. If I went back to school and got cornered by an active shooter, I'd be wishing I had my gun. Thankfully, I am going to be a cop and will be allowed to have a gun anywhere

[Evil Tim]

Originally Posted by Excalibur

Don't like guns in classrooms? Whoever said that is stupid. Those school shootings happen regardless if there is a law or not for guns allowed on campus.

More to the point, an American child is more likely to die from being struck by lightning than from being involved in a school shooting.

[BeardedHoplite]

I don't know, people packing in schools seems like an invitation for trouble. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but if you let firearms into a the school it just seems like it would up the possibilty of spmething minor blowing up and becoming a shooting.

Other than that, yay for gun rights

[Excalibur]

Originally Posted by BeardedHoplite

I don't know, people packing in schools seems like an invitation for trouble. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but if you let firearms into a the school it just seems like it would up the possibilty of spmething minor blowing up and becoming a shooting.

Other than that, yay for gun rights

Ok first off, people walk around with guns ALL the time. It's like saying people owning a gun and having road rage is trouble. I drive with my gun on my all the time. If I get into a fender bender, it doesn't mean I'll brandish my gun like a fucking cowboy. Most gun owners are not like that. We're not talking about high school kids legally packing heat. If gangbanger teens want to get guns, they WILL regardless of the law or not. And if you look at a lot of colleges, we don't see kids, we see a lot of adults, some with family and kids attending. I mean you have to be 21 to even get a handgun in most states and most people attend college for the full 4 years, so straight out of high school, you are 18, so that means almost 3 years have passed before you can even own a handgun, and in a lot of people's cases at that age, even afford a gun of some type, get the proper training, ammo, gear, etc. Getting a gun is one thing, but maintaining it is something else. It's a commitment.

The excuse that it'll turn into the OK Corral and Dodge city is bullshit

[The Wierd It]

Originally Posted by Excalibur

Those school shootings happen regardless if there is a law or not for guns allowed on campus.

Remember, Laws only affect the Law-abiding.

[Spades of Columbia]

Originally Posted by Spartan198

The only part of this I really don't agree with is allowing concealed carry in courtrooms, but I'm open to any opinions as to why I could be wrong.


How is that even relevant to a pediatrician's job?

So its impossible to be attacted or assualted while going into or leaving a Courtroom? or is it the idea that other people will be able to protect you in a courtroom?...what makes a courtroom special in this case especially since banks and classrooms where also mentioned

[Excalibur]

The courtroom thing. I would like to address the point that a courtroom isn't a heavily guarded place with constant patrols roaming around or that they are very secured places either. Unless the defendant is someone everyone wants dead, there isn't going to be a need for any officers there. So...yeah, I would feel much better armed. There have also been several cases where someone attacked a court house, one incident with an AK

[Spartan198]

Originally Posted by Spades of Columbia

So its impossible to be attacted or assualted while going into or leaving a Courtroom? or is it the idea that other people will be able to protect you in a courtroom?...what makes a courtroom special in this case especially since banks and classrooms where also mentioned

Originally Posted by Excalibur

The courtroom thing. I would like to address the point that a courtroom isn't a heavily guarded place with constant patrols roaming around or that they are very secured places either. Unless the defendant is someone everyone wants dead, there isn't going to be a need for any officers there. So...yeah, I would feel much better armed. There have also been several cases where someone attacked a court house, one incident with an AK

I've never been in a courtroom, so I figured they were pretty secure, especially post-9/11.