So I was reading an article the other day and a comment the author made stuck in my mind.
He was siting statistics that he said proved that Concealed Carry holders are involved in shootings an order of magnitude less than Police Officers. That stuck in my head and rattled around in there for awhile. While it was not central to his argument it was very compelling on it's face.
It just occurred to me what the issue is with that statement. Law Enforcement Officers are likely to face a situation where the use of deadly force is reasonable on a weekly or monthly basis, some places more often than that. Concealed Carry Permit holders are reasonably going to face that situation at most once or twice in their lifetimes. Most will never be in that situation.
Don't get me wrong here. I am an original intent, strict constructionist of the Constitution. "The right of the People to Keep and Bear arms shall not be infringed." means exactly that to me. It just bugs me when someone plays with the numbers to make their point. Oh, and the Second Amendment, as ratified, only has one comma in it.
He was siting statistics that he said proved that Concealed Carry holders are involved in shootings an order of magnitude less than Police Officers. That stuck in my head and rattled around in there for awhile. While it was not central to his argument it was very compelling on it's face.
It just occurred to me what the issue is with that statement. Law Enforcement Officers are likely to face a situation where the use of deadly force is reasonable on a weekly or monthly basis, some places more often than that. Concealed Carry Permit holders are reasonably going to face that situation at most once or twice in their lifetimes. Most will never be in that situation.
Don't get me wrong here. I am an original intent, strict constructionist of the Constitution. "The right of the People to Keep and Bear arms shall not be infringed." means exactly that to me. It just bugs me when someone plays with the numbers to make their point. Oh, and the Second Amendment, as ratified, only has one comma in it.