Americans Arm Themselves Fearing New Gun Laws: Poll
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 12:43 PM
By: Dave Eberhart
Fifty-seven percent of Americans say gun sales are up in the United States not because of the fear of crime but because of wariness over increased government restriction on gun ownership, according to a new Rasmussen survey.
The latest poll revealed that 43 percent of Americans said it was very likely that the Obama Administration will try to implement stricter gun control laws – even though 47 percent saw no need for such laws.
Another 28 percent responded that the administration was “somewhat likely” to seek tougher gun control.
In a similar Rasmussen poll conducted in May, 43 percent of Americans said the United States needed more gun control laws, while 47 percent disagreed.
The new national telephone survey indicated that just 23 percent say gun sales have risen because of a fear of increased crime.
In other findings:
Sixty-three percent of men say the threat of more gun control is behind increased sales, compared to 51 percent of women.
Fifty-nine percent of whites agree, while African-Americans are more closely divided on the question.
Sixty-five percent of Republicans and 66 percent of those not affiliated with either major political party say gun sales are up due to a fear of increased government restriction. Meanwhile, a plurality of Democrats agrees by just 10 points.
Seventy-one percent of Americans believe it is at least somewhat likely that President Obama will seek tougher gun control laws – including that 43 percent who say it is very likely.
In a separate survey, 32 percent said crime had increased in their communities in the past year, and 72 percent of those impacted said it was very likely that increase was related to the bad economy.
Only 20 percent of U.S. voters think restricting U.S. gun sales will reduce drug-related violence in Mexico, and 70 percent disagree and oppose such restrictions.
Seventy-five percent of Americans believe the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of an average citizen to own a gun.
ISLE OF WIGHT — The county likely will repeal a new ordinance that prohibits concealed weapons from being taken into public parks and recreational facilities.
The Isle of Wight Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance in August 2008 that allows only “authorized personnel” to carry concealed guns in the county’s recreational facilities, said Assistant County Attorney Mark C. Popovich. But the ordinance — meant to keep the county’s athletic fields, senior centers and other recreational facilities safe for the rapidly growing number of users — is “unenforcable,” he said.
Trouble is, no one realized it until the county received a call from a gun rights group, Virginia Citizens Defense League Inc., shortly after the ordinance passed.
State law says that local governments can’t adopt ordinances controlling the use, sale, possession or transportation of firearms. Local hunting laws are the only exception.
On Thursday, the Board of Supervisors will be looking at a recommendation to repeal the ordinance adopted less than a year ago. If it moves forward, a public hearing could be scheduled for as soon as July 16.
Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, applauded Isle of Wight’s move to remove “useless gun laws” from its book.
“We don’t want issues out there confusing people,” Van Cleave said. Besides, he said, local parks and recreational venues will be safer with people legally carrying their concealed weapons.
Effective, July 1, Nevada will no longer recognize Right-to-Carry permits from Utah or Florida. They have, however, added Ohio and West Virginia as recognized states.
Each May, the Nevada Department of Public Safety conducts an audit of states and their Right-to-Carry laws for the purpose of determining which states it will recognize.
The Nevada DPS dropped Utah because it does not have a live fire requirement, which is a part of Nevada’s training requirements. When the Nevada DPS first began its state by state audit of Right-to-Carry laws in 2007, DPS admitted to NRA representatives that they overlooked the live fire training requirement. After further review, they determined that Utah wasn’t similar enough to keep it on the list of recognized states.
Florida will no longer be recognized because its permits are now valid for seven years instead of five.
The Nevada DPS and the Nevada Sheriffs and Chiefs will be hosting their annual Right-to-Carry forum in Carson City in August with a teleconference feed to Las Vegas. We encourage all members to attend this informational meeting. Details will be forthcoming.
The genius of concealed carry of handguns is that would-be murders remain uncertain as to who is armed and who isn’t. This is true for everyone interested in being as safe as they can be from future violence, because it comes to the realization of specific unalterable realities: you’re on your own.
This week some Southern California Church Leaders came to that very same conclusion, and took up a position advocating not only a very discreet security presence of professionals, but also took the advice of their consultants and adopted the policy of advocating concealed carry of handguns among the congregation.
Realities are the core of solving the problem of church violence, and having the stomach to face those realities and to meet them. For too long, employers, churches, schools and others have said many different ways that they are sad to see things have to come to this, but this is a trap which serves not the people, but the killers. Fifteen Southern California church leaders refused to fall into that trap, and they sought out expert advice. It involves concealed carry of handguns in church, and they took it. Yes, concealed carry of handguns by the members who come to worship.
This is huge. Especially in California.
The Southern California churches’ consultant is Interfaith Intruder Response, a security firm for churches to respect their worship and sanctuary deeply while elaborating specific realities the church needs to accept in these times where threat assessment is a new function. Some of those realities involve not only understanding how families fall apart or how political sentiment can act out, but how to meet it with action at the most critical moments, and some of that action may involve lethal force of their own.
Other churches around the nation have their own story to tell on the subject of not only how they have become pro-active and prepared, as in Bring-Your-Gun-To-Church Day, but also real experience in stopping murderous assailants the moment the assault begins. It works. So does announcing it publicly. Very shrewd.
Some of the most helpful components of the one-day course from Interfaith Intruder Response is how the church is urged to accept facts the entire nation must come to accept, such as the moments between a violent attack and the arrival of police not as incapacitating, but as opportunity to stop them. Cases of mass murder of congregants taught to offer no resistance didn’t cut it, and instructions on how to hide or even to urge children to toss books at an active shooter do about as much and are so very counterintuitive. Yes, some have taught the kids to throw books.
The answer is not to arm faculty who maybe present or not at the critical moment, or to have uniformed guards who are so easily recognized, but to do as these churches are now announcing: discreetly invite the armed citizen to join you.
Killers can kill in moments before a request for aid can even be processed, much less dispatched and on-scene. Not all killers use guns. many have a knife, and a knife does not run out of ammunition. The law in nearly all states is on the side of the target when it comes to life-threatening danger and the use of lethal force in reasonable response. Individuals may use lethal force when in reasonable apprehension of grave danger. Individuals may come to the aid of another. For these churches, perhaps the authority and law were the easy part. The hard part was more likely understanding where their religious authority would lie in even consulting on the subject of violence. Actually, many liberty purists have commented on Christian authority in the righteous use of force. Some of that will be heard in the Gun Rights Policy Conference this September. [Please go to KeepAndbearArms.com for further details on this very important subject.]
But violence is a political football more than a foe. This is because violence can be aggressive or it can resist. I differentiate that abuse and aggression are one side and a righteous response of resistance with force is the other side, and that it is simply not true that all violence is bad. I see that more and more are coming to that same conclusion.
Let me emphasize my support and praise for any church, or school, or workplace who elects to go concealed carry on its premises: It took a lot of courage and faith to make it policy that armed members with concealed carry permits may attend church armed.
On Friday, June 5, South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson announced Right-to-Carry reciprocity agreements with Maine and Virginia.South Dakota will now recognize Right-to-Carry permits from Virginia and Maine.In turn, Virginia and Maine will recognize permits from South Dakota.Virginia will only recognize permits issued to South Dakotans who are at least twenty-one years old.
Permit holders must still comply with the laws that apply in whichever state they are traveling.
Virginia’s permit requests, gun sales rise at record clip
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Utica Pledger prepares to load her weapon during the firing range portion of the concealed weapons permit class at Bob’s Gun Shop in Norfolk last week. (Thomas Slusser | Special to The Virginian-Pilot)
Erin King squeezed into a packed classroom at Bob’s Gun Shop with a new pistol and a mission.
She sat through two hours of instruction and fired off several dozen rounds at the range with her Guardian .32-caliber. The 26-year-old from Suffolk bought her first gun a few weeks ago and plans to get a concealed-carry permit next month.
She’ll slip her pistol into a hidden holster and protect herself commuting to her part-time job cleaning offices at night. “I’m responsible for myself,” King said.
As the classroom shows, she’s not alone.
Driven by safety concerns or political angst, gun sales and applications for concealed-carry permits are booming.
Applications for concealed-carry permits statewide have jumped 42 percent from the same period last year, when the state issued a record number, according to the Virginia Supreme Court. In South Hampton Roads, this year’s requests are running nearly 40 percent over last year’s. Most are granted.
In May, the number of active concealed-weapons permits in Virginia reached 188,900,
according to the Virginia State Police. More people than ever are eligible to carry concealed handguns in the state.
Reported firearms sales by licensed dealers and gun shops in Virginia have also skyrocketed.
Dealers sold 60 percent more guns in November 2008 than they had in November 2007, according to State Police records. Sales by licensed dealers are on pace to break last year’s record by more than 30 percent. The totals do not include private sales.
Steve Dowdy, firearms instructor at Bob’s Gun Shop in Norfolk, said gun owners fear they will lose their rights under President Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress. “I hear this every day: ‘I want to get this while I can,’ ” Dowdy said.
Aaron Karp, a consultant with Small Arms Survey, a think tank studying international policies and proliferation of firearms, agrees that political motivations and a strong gun lobby have driven the increases.
A perception of growing lawlessness in communities can also drive people to buy and carry handguns, he said. For example, a proliferation of gangs in Hampton Roads could spur residents to purchase more handguns, said Karp, also a political science lecturer at Old Dominion University.
Gun sales have historically increased in healthy economic times, which makes the recent spike during this recession unusual, Karp said.
To obtain a concealed-handgun permit in Virginia, a person must be at least 21 and demonstrate handgun competency, which can be accomplished by completing an approved gun safety course or showing proof of military service. The person must also undergo a criminal background check. Total fees are capped at $50.
“A driver’s license is harder to get,” Karp said.
A survey of recently approved applications at the Chesapeake courthouse show a wide range of permit holders: fathers and sons, active-duty Navy officers, enlisted sailors and even a retired Baptist minister.
Jim Coppage, 66, received his permit about a month after he filed his application in Chesapeake Circuit Court. The long time gun owner said he did it to make a political statement.
He renewed his membership to the National Rifle Association. He said he noticed that it’s become difficult to find ammunition in outdoors stores. He watched gun-control laws tighten in Illinois, where Obama served as senator.
“I don’t trust the president,” he said. “I wanted to do it and express my rights.”
But he has no intention of carrying a concealed handgun. “I don’t expect a war,” said the retired Navy senior chief petty officer. “Some people are. I’m not.”
Jimmi Bonavita, a former Virginia Beach police officer, said the handgun activity is probably the most he’s seen in his 35 years as a weapons instructor.
He began teaching a new concealed-weapons permit class in September after noticing a growing demand, he said. When properly handled, he said, a concealed weapon “gives you better protection for you and your family.”
Doug Pennington, spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said statistics actually show reported violent crime decreasing. According to the FBI, violent crimes reported to police decreased 2.5 percent between 2007 and 2008.
Pennington dismissed the argument that tougher gun-control laws would completely strip gun owners’ rights. “It’s never going to happen,” he said. “Nobody is ever going to take all the guns away.”
Bob’s Gun Shop, housed in a old brick building on Granby Street in downtown Norfolk, is one of several shops that offer training courses for concealed weapons. They’ve been running full classes at least once a week since the fall, Dowdy said.
On a recent Tuesday night, he ran through the basics of safely handling a gun for about 30 students. After that, the students went to the top-floor shooting range.
Shanika Pledger, 27, brought her cousin and a friend to the course. Although they joked about their shooting skills on the paper targets, they planned to buy their own guns and get concealed-carry permits.
Pledger and her husband, Dontay, decided they need a handgun for protection because of growing crime in their Norfolk neighborhood.
“He thought it was a good idea,” Pledger said. “We’re living in different times.”
Louis Hansen, (757) 222-5221, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com
As of July 10, 2009, West Virginia will now accept a non-resident carry permit from states in which they already have reciprocity. This means that gun owners living in Maryland, who possess a non-resident carry permit from Virginia, Florida or Utah, will be allowed to carry a handgun while traveling in West Virginia.
Sadly, it is nearly impossible for Marylanders to obtain a carry permit from their own home state. This change in West Virginia law gives Marylanders another bordering state to carry in if they have a non-resident permit.
Gov. Tim Kaine has vetoed legislation that would have expanded Virginia’s death penalty and made it easier to purchase and carry guns.
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Kaine on Friday vetoed bills that would have expanded the death penalty to accomplices in murders and to those who kill on-duty fire marshals or auxiliary police officers. Virginia already ranks second in the nation in the number of executions carried out.
Kaine also rejected legislation that would have allowed those with concealed carry permits to take hidden weapons into bars and restaurants as long as they didn’t drink alcohol and another bill that would have allowed retired law enforcement officers to carry firearms into restaurants that serve booze.
