The standard argument against ''concealed carry'' laws is that there is no good reason for the average Joe to carry a gun. But federal courts have ruled that police aren't obliged to protect individuals from crime. That means citizens are ultimately responsible for their own defense. Criminals commit 10 million violent crimes a year. Florida State University criminologist Gary Kleck found that victims use handguns about 1.9 million times in self-defense.
Criminals weigh the costs of the crime against the benefits.
You don't have to be a criminal mastermind to know that the possibility of a concealed weapon tilts the odds in the victim's favor. Research shows that robbery and rape victims who resist with a gun are only half as likely to be injured as those who don't. A recent study by John Lott and David Mustard of the University of Chicago published in the Journal of Legal Studies bears this out. Vermont has long had the least restrictive firearms-carry laws. Citizens there can carry guns either openly or concealed without any permit.