Milestone
Washington Tops 700,000 Carry Licenses;
What It Says About Public Safety
For the first time, Dave’s home state of Washington reports more than
700,000 active concealed pistol licenses, a milestone he’s been
awaiting for about three years.
On Aug. 6, Washington State reported that the number of active concealed pistol licenses had finally topped 700,000 after a very long wait through a couple of years with roller coaster statistics, and this is in a “blue” state politically.
What does that say about public safety concerns? What it may be telling a lot of people is that the lack of law enforcement manpower and too many liberal judges and prosecutors have left private citizens on their own. As a result, more people are obtaining carry licenses (CPLs in Washington) out of concern for their own and their families’ well-being.
The Evergreen State is an interesting place. It has a very deep-water port (Tacoma, where I grew up), a vast agricultural region (the Columbia Basin and rolling Palouse wheat and alfalfa country of eastern Washington), rugged high country and the tallest mountain in the Lower 48 states (Mount Rainier and the Central and North Cascades), commercial and sport fishing, and divided politics reflective of the North and South just before the Civil War.
And now, it has just over 701,000 legally armed private citizens. According to the Department of Licensing, during July, Washington added more than 3,400 CPLs. Roughly 20% are held by women.
Why should any of this interest readers who do not live in the Evergreen State? Probably because of a recent study appearing in a new report published by Injury Prevention. The report reveals what many of us already suspected: a majority of gun owners across the U.S. have firearms for personal protection. Let’s break down the numbers.
A new report from Injury Prevention says 78.8% of all
gun owners have their firearm for personal protection.
Top Gun
It just might be Washingtonians are at or near the spearpoint when it comes to social trends. According to the Injury Prevention report, 78.8% of all firearm owners have their guns for protection and 58.1% carried a firearm outside of their home in the previous 12 months.
Q: Why do you own a gun?
The study says that firearms carry “was more prevalent in states with ‘stand-your-ground’ laws.” The breakdown is 50.1% in SYG states versus 34.9% in states without an SYG law. Washington does not have such a law and doesn’t need one. The State Supreme Court has made it clear, especially in a 2003 ruling in a case known as State v. Reynaldo Redmond, that “The law is well settled that there is no duty to retreat when a person is assaulted in a place where he or she has a right to be.”
The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs noted last year in its annual crime report, “The total number of commissioned officers statewide was 10,666, down from 10,736 in 2021, while the total population of the state increased by 93,262. Washington again is ranked 51st out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia for the number of officers per thousand residents. Reported cases of officers assaulted was 2,375 in 2022, an increase of 20.7%.”
Public safety is a priority issue in this year’s gubernatorial campaign. Looks like more than 700,000 residents have made that pretty clear.
Increasing numbers of women and minorities are buying guns.
In Washington, roughly 20% of the concealed carry licenses are
held by women. Does this approximate the situation in your state?
More Data
Here’s something else interesting from the Injury Prevention report. Women and race “emerged as key correlates for firearm ownership for protection (vs other ownership motivations). For example, black and Asian women (98.8%) almost exclusively owned firearms for protection.”
Study after study says increasing numbers of women are buying guns and that they are the fastest-growing group of gun owners in the country. Just fire up your search engine and type in “Women and Guns.” There is loads of information on this subject. For example, the National African American Gun Association reported last December, “But one of the most exciting statistics to acknowledge is the growth in the numbers of minorities who are joining the 2A community. According to NSSF data, ownership of firearms among Black Americans increased 58.2% through the first six months of 2020. And those numbers remained steady in 2021 — outpacing every other demographic. There have also been notably large pockets of growth with women of color, who have been pushing forward in their firearms journeys and purchasing their first guns. Nearly 87% of gun stores nationwide showed an increase in Black women buying firearms just within the first six months of 2021.”
NSSF is the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry trade association, and something of the repository for information about gun ownership and firearms purchasing.
But, Still…
Even with all of this interest in gun buying and carrying for personal protection, the gun control crowd is still hard at it, trying to convince people that there must be more “safeguards” (translation: impairments/speed bumps/roadblocks) to legal gun ownership.
Take Maine, for example. Last month, a new law kicked in requiring a 72-hour waiting period to buy and take possession of a firearm. The sales pitch for waiting periods has been the same since I was crawling around in diapers, it sems. People buying guns should have to endure a “cooling off period” to prevent suicide or spur-of-the-moment homicides.
Washington increased its waiting period to 10 days, the same as California.
Here’s what many people think is the real reason for demanding waiting periods even a couple of decades after creation of the National Instant Check System (NICS): Waiting periods are great tools for putting traditional weekend gun shows out of business, or at least severely curtailing the primary activity of firearms trades or sales.
As reported by WGME News, “Gun Owners of Maine President Laura Whitcomb said the waiting period will take away the spontaneity of gun purchases at gun shows and ultimately make the purchases impractical.”
The gun control crowd counters that waiting periods have not hurt gun shows in California and Colorado, where they claim “business is booming.”
FBI data says violent crime came down during a period
when gun ownership went up dramatically. Hmmmm?
Something Else
Here’s a little tidbit: the anti-gun crowd doesn’t seem eager to ever discuss, and neither do any of the media talking heads. As noted by TheGunMag, the online news magazine (formerly GUN WEEK) owned by the Second Amendment Foundation:
“Interestingly, when the FBI released its crime report for 2022 — the most recent year for which data is available — it revealed that national violent crime decreased by about 1.7% from 2021. Here are the high points that suggest proponents for more gun control are wrong when they contend that more guns result in more crime. According to the FBI:
• Murder and non-negligent manslaughter recorded a 2022 estimated nationwide decrease of 6.1% compared to the previous year.
• In 2022, the estimated number of offenses in the revised rape category saw an estimated 5.4% decrease.
• Aggravated assault in 2022 decreased an estimated 1.1% in 2022.”
Translation: During a period when private gun ownership has increased (along with concealed carry), there has been a decrease in murder, manslaughter and rape. Now, ain’t that interesting?
Crickets. Does anyone hear crickets?
MAILBAG
(Regarding ‘Triggered Debate,’ Aug. 5) Dave, I spent many years in rough country. Much of it on mule back. When I got into cowboy shooting, I strapped on a cowboy rig. When I got back, it took two hours to pick out briars, cedar and all kinds of crap from my pistol.
Later, on extended mule rides, my shooter rode in El Paso leather flap. Rain, snow, and rough going were often. Read real cowboys stashed their guns in saddle bags!
Nine toed Ted
(Kathy Plummer)
Dave replies: LOL! I’ve picked briars and cedar and other stuff, but not out of my sixgun, regardless which holster I was using. Of course, I was on foot, not on a mule! I was always pretty careful where I sat down, but occasionally, a briar, nettle, cedar sliver, or some other natural thing devoted to my discomfort found its way into my britches, right next to my holstered handgun. Thanks for reading ‘Insider Online.”
