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One serious problem with CCW is that there is usually no means of escalation. Police officers are usually in good physical shape and are trained to suit their actions to the situation.
The mere presence of a uniformed police officer can defuse many situations. The cop has training in unarmed combat (maybe not black belt, but some training). He or she is trained to use the baton, Mace, blackjack, and handcuffs (as a weapon), before or instead of resorting to deadly force. An armed citizen has a gun. Period. It is like a nation with no army or navy, only nuclear missiles.
The armed citizen can respond only with deadly force and can do so only in defending himself or herself, family members, and other known innocent people. The CCW licensee may not shoot those involved in a barroom brawl, may not blow away the creep who rams his car in a parking lot and takes off, may not put a bullet into the purse snatcher.
I support CCW, but recognize its limits. The license carries no special privileges or rights except one - it provides an exemption to the law against concealed weapons carry.
Jim Keenan
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