http://www.mclaughlin.com/9index.cfm
My Gun, My Friend
“I didn’t grow up in a house with guns. I’m not a hunter, but I was convinced by an assistant D.A. in Houston to carry, illegally, which I did for many years, actually. And back in '91, I went with my parents to a local cafeteria, it was a bright, sunny day. The place was packed. And we'd finished eating when this guy drove his truck through the window and began methodically shooting people. He was not spraying bullets. He was executing people. And as he began to get closer to us, I thought – [snaps fingers] -- I've got him. Reached for my weapon and realized it was 100 feet away in my car, completely useless to me To make a long story short, 23 people were killed, including my parents.”
That’s Suzanna Hupp, Texas State Legislator. After her parents were killed, Hupp became instrumental in the fight to make Texas a “right-to-carry state” – one that allows the law-abiding populace to carry concealed weapons. In 1995, Governor George Bush signed that legislation into law. “A gun is a tool, it's a tool that can be used to save a family or it's a tool that can be used to kill a family. And quite frankly, everywhere where we initiate these concealed carry laws, violent crime immediately goes down.”
Hupp is right.
Right-To-Carry Means Less Violence.
In states that allow people to carry concealed weapons – 31 states do so – the average homicide rate has fallen 19% lower as compared to states without such laws. Robberies are 39% lower than states without.
Guns Protect More Than They Harm.
Firearms are used 60 times more often to protect lives than to take lives. 2.5 million times a year law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves against criminals – that’s 6,850 times a day. Guns Protect Women. Of those 2.5 million self-defense cases, 46% were women protecting themselves with guns - more than 200,000 of them against sex abuse.
Self-Protection Without Killing.
91.7% of those 2.5 million self-defense cases did not result in an attacker being wounded or killed. That’s according to research done by Florida State University Professor and Criminologist Gary Kleck. Often, just brandishing a weapon, or threatening its use without even showing it, does the trick. Kleck, incidentally, is no gun-nut. He is a lifelong registered Democrat, a member of the ACLU and Amnesty International and Democrats 2000 and Common Cause. Research like Kleck’s may be a reason why people are flocking to the National Rifle Association – the NRA – to protect gun rights. The NRA is at record roster – 3.6 million members- with 200,000 joining in the past six weeks alone - despite the anti-gun Million Mom March last weekend. And, by the way, get this: on the gun issue, more people agree with Bush – 37%, than with Gore, 35%
