| WASHINGTON
- June 12 - A new study released
today by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) shows that Texas
concealed handgun license holders have been arrested 5,314 times
since the concealed handgun license law went into effect -- an
average of two and one-half arrests every day from Jan. 1, 1996,
until Aug. 31, 2001. Texas has a "shall issue" concealed carry
system, in which an adult (21 or over), is issued a license that
allows them to have a handgun on or about their person as long as
it is not visible or discernible through ordinary observation after
they meet specific, objective criteria.
According to "License to Kill IV: More Guns, More Crime," from
Jan. 1, 1996, through Aug. 31, 2001, there were 41 arrests for
murder and attempted murder by concealed handgun license holders in
Texas. "License to Kill IV: More Guns, More Crime" discusses the
dangerous ramifications of concealed carry legislation and details
the arrests of 11 concealed handgun license holders subsequent to
licensure for the crimes of homicide, attempted homicide, and
aggravated kidnapping. Arrest data is regularly accepted as a
valid measure of crime, reflecting law enforcement response to
criminal activity, and is used by agencies such as the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for its Uniform Crime Reports (UCR).
"The NRA told Texans in 1996 that a concealed handgun law would
make Texas a safer place," VPC Health Policy Analyst Karen Brock,
MPH, said today. "The thousands of arrests of concealed handgun
license holders demonstrates the exact opposite to be true: license
holders are committing crimes, not preventing them. States now
considering concealed carry laws should learn from the dire
consequences that Texans now live with day-in and day-out."
VPC analysis of the Texas Department of Public Safety's (DPS)
data reveals that:
-- From 1996 to 2000, Texas concealed handgun license holders
were arrested for weapon-related offenses at a rate 81 percent
higher than that of the general population of Texas, aged 21 and
older which amounts to more than one weapon-related offense every
other day since the law went into effect.
-- Texas concealed handgun license holders have been arrested
for more than two serious violent crimes per month since the law
went into effect including: murder/attempted murder,
manslaughter/negligent homicide, kidnapping, rape, and sexual
assault.
-- Texas concealed handgun license holders have been arrested
for more than two crimes against children per month since the law
went into effect including: sexual assault/aggravated sexual
assault on a child, injury to a child, indecency with a child,
abandon/endanger a child, solicitation of a minor, and possession
or promotion of child pornography.
For a copy of "License to Kill IV" contact Naomi Seligman at 202-822-8200,
ext. 105 or visit the VPC's Web site at http://www.vpc.org.
The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational organization working
to reduce gun death and injury in America.
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