Another Win for Gun-nut Nation.

If there’s one thing that gets all my friends in Gun-control Nation nuts and crazy, it’s the idea that anyone who is legally entitled to own a gun should be able to stick that gun in his pocket or her pocketbook and walk around with that weapon outside their home.

This practice, known as CCW (concealed carry of a weapon) was rarely allowed by any state government until Florida passed a CCW law in 1987 and permissive CCW laws started spreading from the Gunshine state to other states.

There are now 24 states which allow anyone who can legally own a gun to carry the weapon on their person without having to apply for any kind of special permission or licensing from the cops. Only a handful of states still give law enforcement the authority to determine whether an individual who wants to carry a gun outside their home is based on the gun owner’s ability to demonstrate ‘cause,’ i.e., without having a gun on their person they might be running a serious risk.

There have been several studies which show some degree of linkage between a state which legalizes CCW without preconditions or licensing requirements and an increase in gun violence in those same states. But what has never been shown is that the increase in gun violence is caused by CCW carriers using their guns. Maybe yes, maybe no, maybe WTFK?