Handgun Permits

More than half of states have now adopted laws recognizing the right of the law-abiding individual to carry a concealed weapon for self-defense. With 88% of violent crimes now occurring outside the home, more and more citizens are considering responsibly arming themselves--and they are demanding that their state lawmakers give them the legal means to do so.

This legislation works. Since Florida’s right-to-carry law took effect in 1987, the state’s homicide rate has dropped 25% and the handgun homicide rate has dropped 29%. During the same time period, the comparable national rates have increased 15% and 50% respectively. Since 1987, more than 300,000 permits to carry have been issued in Florida and only 52--or just .017%--have been revoked because of firearms-related crimes committed by permit holders.

The latest data, for 1993, shows that the firearm violent crime rate is 29% lower in states with right-to-carry laws than in states with restrictive carry laws. It seems to me that the time has come for Californians to enact similar legislation in the form of AB 638, by Assemblyman Pete Knight (R-Palmdale).

JOHN F. HILL

Huntington Beach