Gun Control - A counter-proposal

In last week's post, I tried to convey some sense of understanding of why gun owners cling to their weapons, and talk a little bit about how we want the same thing (freedom, prosperity, safety, etc). I also submitted that gun control legislation seems to come from a place of corruption or stupidity when brought into the light. It's possible no one can do anything right in terms of legislation. Wouldn't that be a great argument for lesser government? But I'm digressing.

Pointing out problems and saying "We have a mess here" just doesn't help very much, especially if such knowledge is widely accepted. I do think gun laws are a mess, but perhaps not for the same reason a gun-control person may think. Regardless, I submit my proposal for what I think would be effective gun control - training.

I can point to numerous sources that say gun ownership is on the rise, while crime is dropping. I know it's an NRA link, and to some degree they have their best interests in mind, but cite lots of sources that are very credible. There is legislation that's doing some good out there for us, and that's concealed carry permit laws. I'm pretty sure that concealed carry permits aren't the only reason we're seeing a drop in crime, but I do submit that they help.

Concealed Carry of Weapons (CCW) allow a person to carry weapons on their person in a lot of situations. There's a lot more to it than that though. To get the permit, you often have to take a course (this doesn't apply to all states) that shows 1) You have some basic competence when it comes to handling your weapon with a live fire exercise, and 2) Learn about the legal consequences for using a weapon.

The CCW offers an exchange - a more flexible amount of second amemendment freedom in exchange for making someone a safer citizen in terms of their knowledge, skill, and accountability. Some posed that CCW permits would make for blood in the streets. Instead, we've found that CCW permit holders are more law abidding than the general public.

My thought is that the second amendment is my permit. You don't need a permit to speak or publish newspapers (first amendment), so why do you need one to have a gun? I guess the permits don't really restrict your ability to have guns such much as how you carry them, so there's some debatable points here (just like there's rules for broadcasting on radio waves). In Logan's dream world, we'd need no such permits. Gun control would be defined as using both hands.

Understanding that I live in this world, where you just can't have things that are absolute, I see the permit system as a great thing. This should be what the gun control debate is over. When you go to ban or take away guns, you will always meet opposition. If the true goal is to make our society safer and more prosperous, then entice gun owners to get more training. It works! Yeah, there's some compromise on both sides. These compromises are much more reasonable and have results.

Let's end with some fun stuff:
Right to carry law progression in the States
In my favorite state, Arizona, about 2% of the population are permit holders. One out of fifty people you run into carry a permit. My sources: Arizona's population (07), Arizona's CCW stats (09).
There two out of fifty states (and three out of five territories) in the US with no CCW system allowed whatsoever.
In recent events, I've heard CCW departments across the States are flooded with requests for more permits, including Arizona's:

Applicants:

Please allow 60 days for the processing of your permit application. Phone calls inquiring if your application has been received and/or the status of your permit takes time away from the staff who are actually processing your application. We are experiencing an increased volume of applications and are operating with minimum staffing levels. Thank you for your patience!