From: [N M PX 21 A] at [prodigy.com] (PAUL D QUESNELL) Date: 96-01-30 23:37:09 EST Permission to Pack More than a million Americans are ready to deal lethal force. And they're licensed to do it. Handgun permits are getting easier to come by - --even in L.A. By PAUL DEAN, TIMES STAFF WRITER Los Angeles Times Thursday January 4, 1996 Home Edition Life & Style, Page 1 Type of Material: Top Story; Main Story =========================================== Permits to carry concealed handguns have been issued to Howard Stern, Donald Trump, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and William F. Buckley. Each came loaded with accusations of official pandering to the clout and cash reserves of their celebrated recipients. In apparent conflict with his newspaper's gun control editorials, Arthur O. Sulzberger, chairman of the New York Times, has been licensed to carry a .38 revolver. As have several millionaires, many judges, a wise guy or three, union bosses, two Rockefellers and Tom Selleck. "These people think it's wrong for everyone else to carry a gun, but think it's OK for them to carry a gun," protests California attorney Don B. Kates Jr. "It is telling the public: Your life is not important. Our lives are." Americans seem to be saying something else: What's good for the well- connected ought to be good for all. And in state after state, legislatures are returning to the open gun laws of America's Colonial and territorial infancies with concealed weapons permits virtually for the asking. For about $50, a photograph and fingerprints. More than half the states now license citizens to carry concealed weapons. That's 1.5 million Americans ready to deal their own lethal force, instead of dialing 911. Even in Los Angeles, long a leader of hard-nosed handgun restrictions, things are softening. Credit lawyer Kates, veteran pursuer of human and constitutional causes, who last year filed a suit against the City of Los Angeles on behalf of ordinary residents refused permits to carry concealed weapons. He was joined by other attorneys, identical suits and similar clients. All won. And in August, after two decades of virtual nonissuance, the uncelebrated electrician, realty agent and toilet paper maker were issued one-year permits to travel Los Angeles with loaded pistols under their jackets or in their purses. <<SNIP>> * Thirty states currently grant CCW (Carry Concealed Weapon) permits to qualified residents. The surge has been stoked, experts say, by more Republicans in government and a heightened public perception that lawbreaking, particularly rape, robbery and assault, is rising and moving closer to the law-abiding. * In "carry states," obtaining a permit is only marginally more difficult than buying a semiautomatic pistol to go with it. In general, applicants must be 21 with no criminal record, no history of drug or alcohol abuse, and have attended a state-approved firearms training course. * Oregon has 38,000 persons licensed to carry; in Texas, the count is 100,000; in Florida, 250,000; in Arizona, 30,000; in Pennsylvania, 360,000; and in all states, permit holders typically represent up to 4% of the population. Or more than 1.5 million Americans. "It's a tidal wave," enthuses a representative of the National Rifle Assn. <<SNIP>> At one point, the NRA seemed to have proved its theory that concealed weaponry deters crime, when Florida's homicide rate dropped 29% after introduction of concealed-carry legislation. Smiles lasted until HCI, working with a University of Maryland study, published numbers showing that Florida's rate for other violent crimes-- rape, aggravated assault and robbery, which should have been decreased by a mufti militia--actually increased 18%. Less-biased experts only added to the cross-fire and confusion. They note that homicide rates are down nationally, even in states where there has been no relaxation of concealed-weapons laws. And heaven help the NRA's public support, suggested another researcher, if it turns out that the national drop in homicides resulted from HCI's success with establishing a handgun waiting period and the ban on assault weapons. Or maybe it was the economy? The weather? "You can't make an informed opinion one way or another," concludes James Moore, commissioner of Florida's Department of Law Enforcement. Some say viewpoints of both extremes are specious, because nobody in the United States has been murdered, nor have banks been robbed nor people mugged, by anyone with a permit to carry a concealed weapon. They add that criminals willing to shoot police officers aren't going to worry about the minor penalty for illegally concealing a handgun. An NRA argument: Victims of American massacres in fast-food shops, post offices, commuter trains and shoe stores would be alive if someone other than their killers had been carrying a handgun. The HCI counter: Carrying a handgun wouldn't have prevented the shootings of President Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. And they were ringed by bodyguards with submachine guns. <<SNIP>> Amid all the debates, believes David Kopel, research director for the nonprofit, nonpartisan Independence Institute, a Colorado-based think tank, there are absolutes. In "Shall Issue: The New Wave of Concealed Handgun Permit Laws," a 46 - -page report published last year by the institute, Kopel concludes: * "Critics of carry reform have predicted that blood will flow in the streets as hot-tempered citizens shoot each other in trivial disputes. Analysis of murder rates in these states reveals that carry reform has not led to an increased homicide rate." * "The fact that permits are available does not mean everyone will carry a gun. Usually, only about 1% to 4% of a state's population will choose to obtain a permit." * "Accordingly, states considering carry reform can enact such laws knowing that reform will not endanger public safety. Carry reform, at least sometimes, allows citizens to save their own lives by protecting themselves against criminal attack." Kopel acknowledges that the weight of his report falls on the NRA's side of the fence. He also is an NRA member, but one who clearly disputes the organization's conclusions. Kopel insists that his research was not funded, assisted, nor initiated by the NRA. "I'm a researcher with footnotes who presents statements of fact supported by documentary evidence," he says. "You make up your own mind. " While compiling the report, Kopel says he realized that the number of women lobbying for CCW "is two orders of magnitude larger" than for any other gun issue. He attributes this to the vulnerability of women and their desire to balance the odds if attacked by physically stronger males. He also identifies a "pro-gun, pro-control" group of Americans who dwell between ideological poles. They applaud laws to keep guns from criminals, but are not opposed to gun ownership or carrying a handgun as a tool of self-protection. Kopel predicts that 40 states will ratify carrying laws by the turn of the millennium. Even California. "[CCW] is always passed with this flurry of excitement, warnings of annihilation, then there's a big rush of people to get permits," he adds . "Then after that, even in states where gun control remains a very hot issue, repealing the CCW law tends not to get very much attention, even from the gun-control lobby. <<SNIP>> Public figures who do have permits to carry concealed weapons are generally reluctant to discuss their reasons or carrying habits. Some believe acknowledging a permit is likely to alert potential assailants and neutralize the advantage of concealing a handgun. Several queries to Arthur Sulzberger's office went unanswered. There was silence from Tom Selleck's publicity agent. A representative said Donald Trump has his New York City permit but "doesn't carry a gun, never has." From the office of publisher William F. Buckley and his National Review, an assistant's response was a chuckle. "I presume he hasn't turned it in on a certificate from Toys R Us," she said. Later, after checking with Buckley: "Yes, he still has a gun and a permit." Sen. Dianne Feinstein obtained her permit in 1976 when she was president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and a bomb exploded against her house. "I was a victim of the New World Liberation Front," she recalled. "Then they shot out the windows of our beach house." Although a supporter of tough gun laws, Feinstein believes citizens should be granted permits to carry concealed weapons if there is "a demonstrable need." Her own license has lapsed. Feinstein's gun was melted into a crucifix, which she later presented to Pope John Paul. Don Buchwald of New York represents Howard Stern. He said he didn't know if his client had a gun permit. Could you ask? "Who cares?" snapped Buchwald. Then he hung up. Copyright, The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times, 1996.