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Morgan Freas
Rhoda Lukens
UWRT 1101
28 October 2014
A Shot in the Dark
Only light can drive out darkness, but in a world full of darkness, isnt it best to be able to
defend yourself rather than to try and kill people with kindness? Allowing conscientious citizens
to carry concealed handguns in a lawful manner minimizes violent crime and property crime; the
decline in these types of crime is due to criminals fear of potentially lethal self-defense by
armed victims. Because of this fear, people who carry concealed weapons also produce a
protective barrier for other individuals who do not carry firearms due to the fact that the possible
attackers cannot determine who is armed.
Concealed carry is the act of carrying a concealed weapon, usually a loaded handgun, on
ones person or in ones vehicle, and is also known as CCW. Concealed carry allows individuals
to better defend themselves since there is no forewarning to attackers that the intended victim is
armed. Concealed carrying also keeps onlookers from noticing a handgun, as firearms can cause
individuals to become apprehensive when seen on someone in public.
I joined those first two paragraphs together, and put my thesis statement highlighted in the first
paragraph at the end of the combined paragraphs.
Firearms are dangerous weapons, and concealed carry has very strict laws to ensure that
these dangers do not become a hazard. There is no federal law specifically addressing the
issuance of concealed carry permits, but all 50 states have passed laws allowing citizens to carry
certain concealed firearms in public with or without a permit (Pershing 15). However,

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Washington D.C is the only place that does not allow concealed carry unless the individual is of
active or retired law enforcement. Today, many places allow concealed firearms on their
premises including national parks, establishments that sell and allow consumption of alcohol,
and even educational properties as long as the firearm is kept in a locked container attached to
the inside of the owner's car. The laws of concealed carry are constantly changing and the
members of concealed carry are required to keep up with these ever changing laws to reissue
permits.
Along with great power, concealed carry also comes with great responsibility and not just
anyone should have a concealed carry permit. People who have the right to concealed carry are
carrying a weapon capable of inflicting grave bodily harm on another human being which comes
with huge responsibility. Someone who is prone to violent outbursts and has trouble controlling
their temper should not be around guns or weapons in general.
Ultimately, the point of a concealed carry is to protect one's self or loved ones from
someone who is trying to physically harm or even to kill the individual. Criminals value their
lives just as much as the average citizen, which means criminals are not likely to mess with
someone that could end their lives with the pull of a trigger. Concealed carry gives citizens the
right to defend themselves when police are not around. The reasons for concealed carry may
come from various opinions, but the number one argument of having a concealed carry is to
defend and prevent dangerous situations.
Deleted the highlighted sentence above and combined the two paragraphs above.
Now before shots are fired, the biggest thing our society needs to realize and understand
is the argument of the second amendment. Most people are scared of things they do not know,
and with guns being so deadly, many people want to dismiss the second amendment as a

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privilege instead of a right. However, simply saying it is a citizens right to carry a gun, without
any back up to that argument, is not very helpful to the cause. The Constitutional argument by
itself is not very dense. Instead of saying its our constitutional right to bear arms, society needs
to be prepared to make a passionate argument based on fact. The Bill of Rights was made mainly
from the constitutions of the existing colonies that came before it (Ayoob 42). Many of these are
explicit about the right to bear arms being an individual right, not a collective right. Advocates of
gun control interpret the second amendments meaning as the people as a whole have the right to
bear arms, and there is no individual right for it. Todays proponents of gun control say the
National Guard is our nations militia, but the definition of a militia is a group of armed citizens
formed from a populace that owns arms they can bear when the need arises (Pershing 21). The
National Guard is more of a back up to our military rather than a militia formed of the people
called to bring their own weapons and defend the nation.
Teaching and training the citizens of the United States how to properly handle firearms
and how to defend their nation would eliminate the need for a National Guard. The citizens
would become the National Guard, able to defend themselves at a moments notice. After
delving a little deeper into the second amendment and understanding its actual intent, it becomes
clear that gun control really does not work. Gun control only works for law-abiding citizens.
Criminals are going to obtain and carry guns whether its legal or not. Hardened criminals do not
care whether the state theyre in is a state that requires a CCW permit to carry a concealed
weapon; and by taking guns away from upstanding citizens, this diminishes the ability of law
abiding citizens to defend themselves against those criminals (Pershing 23). To further prove this
statement, John Pershing stated in his book: We are a free country because our forefathers

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owned and bared arms. When other countries attempted to take our rights, our forefathers fought
for our freedom and rights with the arms they were free to bear (25).
History has proven time and time again that the guns greatest power is the power to
deter. Criminals normally target victims they believe that they can overthrow. However, when
the victim draws a gun, the attacker realizes that their target has the ability to kill them instantly.
This tends to modify their behavior immediately without a shot being fired. Concealed carry
expert, Chris Bird also gave his input in an interview saying If a criminal knows that you have a
concealed handgun on your person, 99% of them are going to flee at the sight of the hilt.
Criminals do not attack someone they cannot overpower (18). The person not armed with a
concealed handgun will very likely have to kill or cripple and attacker to defeat the threat. In
contrast, the person who is armed is hugely more likely to be able to end the threat with no
physical injury on either side due to the huge deterrent effect (Ayoob 62). There are many
situations that have occurred in our society that could have potentially been stopped if someone
was carrying a concealed firearm. For example, at the Aurora Batman movie shooting in
Colorado July 20th, 2012, the police arrived a couple of minutes after the first 911 call, but the
first 911 call was not made until nine minutes after the shooting started. If someone in that movie
theater had a concealed carry, then there is a possibility the gunman could have been stopped and
innocent lives could have been saved.
The biggest argument for someone having a concealed carry is the issue of self-defense.
(This sentence was deleted) The biggest reason for having a concealed carry is to defend yourself
and others. Concealed carry brings self-defense into a new light and gives peace through superior
firepower. By their nature, wolves attack sheep when the sheepdog arent there, and criminals
are careful to make sure there are no police officers in sight when they attack their victims. This

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leaves the victim alone to fend for themselves (Ayoob). A violent aggressor is likely to laugh if
an intended victim they perceive to be smaller or weaker than them squares off in a martial arts
stance. However a victim who draws a gun is obviously prepared to open fire. A shooting stance
with a drawn firearm is the ultimate red flag (Ayoob). Nobody knows when they are going to be
attacked. Nobody has any idea when someone is going to rob them, rape them, kidnap them, or
be involved in an active shooting scenario. Some people believe never. Even most law
enforcement never have to shoot anyone in self-defense, but anyone can turn on the news to
realize that any one of us could be involved in a life or death situation at any time. The difference
between unarmed combat and having a concealed weapon is deterrent effect. In one notorious
case, a rapist murdered two women because, he said later, he became enraged when one of them
sprayed him with mace (Ayoob). In womens self-defense classes or rape prevention, they are
taught to attack the assailants genitals, eyes, throat, or blows to the head. These result in crushed
testicles, eyes gouged out, suffocation, and fractured skulls that result in brain injuries. All of
these fall in the category of life-threatening trauma and grave bodily harm. Deadly force is
deadly force whether its with bear hands, a clubbed weapon, or a deadly weapon such as a gun.
When a life is at stake, a concealed carry gives the safety and security to defend a life and give
the confidence to defuse a dangerous situation.
Whether it be the past, present, or future; statistics are there to back up and provide
information on the positives of concealed handguns. Most people do not realize how big firearms
and concealed handguns are in our nation. Based on production data from firearm manufacturers,
there are roughly 300 million firearms owned by civilians in the United states as of 2010
(Agresti). Also as of early 2011, more than 6.3 million people in the United States have licenses
to carry concealed handguns (Agresti). Even the statistics of concealed carry used in self-defense

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do nothing but elaborate on how useful they are. (This sentence was moved towards the
beginning of the paragraph like you suggested) On a survey from 2000, U.S. civilians use guns
to defend themselves from crime at least 989,883 times per year (Pershing 39). John Lotts latest
studies have come to indicate that in well over 90% of incidents where most law abiding citizens
who confront criminals and take them at gunpoint, dont have to kill them. The criminal either
flees or submits to the citizens arrest when taken at gunpoint (Ayoob). With a single exception,
every multiple victim shooting in the U.S. in which more than three people have been killed
since at least 1950 has taken place where citizens are not allowed to carry their own firearms
(Lott 11). There is also a big deception when it comes to fatality factor of owning a concealed
firearm. In 2007 there were 613 fatal firearm accidents in the United States, which constituted
.5% of fatal accidents that year (Agresti). The list of statistics of concealed firearms and their
perks goes on and the list just keeps growing along with our future.
Guns are not the problem, legal gun owners are not the problem, and its the criminals
that have guns who are the problem. The same criminals who will continue to carry guns and use
them freely on unarmed Americans if our gun ownership rights are taken away. Even if our
rights are taken away, criminals will always find a way to get what they want, no matter if it is
illegal or not. Supporting concealed carry will keep our nation a safe and strong one, fighting off
anyone who tries to harm ourselves and our families. Allowing conscientious citizens in good
legal standing to carry concealed handguns in a lawful manner minimizes violent crime and
property crime; the decline in these types of crime is due to criminals fear of potentially lethal
self-defense by armed victims.

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Works Cited
Works Cited was double spaced
Ayoob, Massad F. The Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry. Iola, WI: Gun Digest, 2008. Print.
"BEST CONCEALED CARRY GUN 101." Best Concealed Carry Gun 101. N.p., n.d. Web. 16
Feb. 2014. (This source was deleted, I didnt need it in my paper)
"Concealed Guns ProCon.org" ProCon.org. 5 Feb. 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
James D. Agresti and Reid K. Smith. "Gun Control Facts." Just Facts, September 13, 2010.Revised
2/11/13. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Pershing, John. Concealed Carry: Why You Need To Carry A Concealed Weapon. Vol. 1. N.p.:
n.p., 2012. Print.