If anything, passage of the concealed-weapons law has made crime less prevalent. University of Chicago economist John Lott has researched the issue and published his findings in More Guns, Less Crime. Even after controlling for factors such as the cyclical decline in crime nationwide, he found that states permitting citizens to carry concealed weapons have reduced murder by 8.5 percent, rape by 5 percent, and severe assault by 7 percent. In response, the police offered women a weapons-training seminar. About 2,500 showed up the first day.
Criminals prey on the weak and defenseless.
Permitting citizens to carry concealed weapons makes the criminal's job far riskier - he never can be sure who might be packing heat. The criminals' fear is well-grounded. Estimates on the use of firearms for self-defense vary wildly, because many incidents go unreported. But even the lowest estimate, by the Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey, reports that guns are used 110,000 times a year for defensive purposes. Lott's work is tainted and, therefore, invalid.