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Concealed Carry Killers | |
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Click on the tally for each category to be linked to vignettes describing the circumstances for each killing, listed by state. A listing for all incidents by state can be found by clicking on "Total People Killed by Concealed Carry Killers." | |
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| The Violence Policy Center’s Concealed Carry Killers database documents 370 incidents in 32 states. In more than three quarters of the incidents (295) the concealed carry killer has already been convicted (121), committed suicide (167), or was killed in the incident (seven). Of the 65 cases still pending, the vast majority (52) of concealed carry killers have been charged with criminal homicide, five were deemed incompetent to stand trial, and eight incidents are still under investigation. An additional 10 incidents were fatal unintentional shootings involving the gun of the concealed handgun permit holder. At least 14 of the victims were law enforcement officers. Twenty-three of the incidents were mass shootings, resulting in the deaths of 103 victims.
In 1996 at a Dallas, Texas, press conference, Tanya Metaksa, then the executive director of the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action, promised, "As we get more information about right-to-carry, our point is made again and again...People who get permits in states which have fair right-to-carry laws are law-abiding, upstanding community leaders who merely seek to exercise their right to self-defense." This assertion, summarized by Metaksa in the blunt and absolute assertion that "these citizens don't commit violent crimes," was a key factor when state legislatures debated weakening concealed weapons laws to allow private citizens to carry concealed handguns in public. Had the NRA informed policymakers that concealed handgun permit holders would routinely be killing law enforcement personnel and perpetrating, rather than preventing, mass murders and other gun homicides few legislators--applying Metaksa's own standard--would have voted in favor of such laws. These unfounded assertions are repeated to this day. In a September 28, 2010, opinion piece on Foxnews.com, concealed carry advocate John Lott asserted, "Fears about accidents and rampages by permit holders, and blood running in the streets however never materialized where concealed carry has been allowed." Such false claims are endlessly repeated by pro-gun advocates in their ongoing efforts to expand the carrying of concealed handguns into bars, churches, schools, and places of employment. In addition, the gun lobby has been successful at hiding the truth about crimes committed by concealed handgun permit holders by forcing most states to keep secret the identities of permit holders. As a result, until recently, the false claims made by pro-gun advocates regarding these "upstanding community leaders" have been left unchallenged. In 2009, the Violence Policy Center began an ongoing research project to identify killings from May 2007 to the present involving citizens legally allowed to carry concealed handguns. Because detailed information on such killings is not readily available, the VPC is forced to rely primarily on news accounts for reports of such killings and subsequent legal proceedings. Above is the current tally from May 2007 to the present of killings involving persons with concealed carry permits or who committed a killing in public with a legal handgun in a state that allows concealed carry without a permit (Alaska, Arizona, and Vermont allow the carrying of concealed handguns without a permit). The killings are broken out by specific categories and a killing may fit into more than one category. Because the VPC relies primarily on news reports for the majority of incidents, the actual numbers are most likely far higher. This tally is updated monthly. Clicking on each category's tally will link you to vignettes describing the circumstances for each killing, listed by state. The descriptions also include the current, known status of any charges filed against the permit holder as well as noting instances where the perpetrator committed suicide. The Violence Policy Center welcomes any new information regarding the status of any case (with verifiable source(s)). Any new information or corrections to the information contained in the database will be posted in the next monthly update. Use this link to contact the VPC: http://www.vpc.org/contact.htm. Last updated: November 29, 2012 | |
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