Florida popcorn shooting: Are concealed guns about self-defense or power?

You may be aware that those old "may issue" concealed carry laws that gave the issuing authority some discretion had been proposed by the Handgun Owners Association and NRA in the 1920s and 1930s.  We had the statement of Then-NRA President Karl T. Frederick:

MR. FREDERICK: ... "I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons. I seldom carry one. ... I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses"

Yet, for some reason (most likely it is the best way to get people to act against their interest), the NRA now proposes and advocates the "general promiscuous toting of guns".

The Christian Science Monitor has a piece with the same title I used here that points out that this has been a bad decision:

But in a country in which the number of permits to carry concealed weapons has skyrocketed, Oulson’s death has also become one more piece of evidence of what some see as the sinister and frightening side of expanded gun rights. In that view, the act of carrying a hidden gun in public is as much about wielding power over fellow citizens as self-defense.
“There are a lot of people dead today who would be alive but for [a gun carrier] who gets angry and accelerates an argument to a homicide,” says Kristen Rand, legislative director at the Violence Policy Center in Washington. “It’s very clear that carrying a concealed gun creates a mindset among some people that, ‘I’ve got a gun, the state sanctions it, therefore I have a right to use it’ ” in public.

There is something called the weapon effect, which is where the presence of a weapon will tend to cause the situation to become more violent.  The CSM mentions this:

But others see a more disturbing pattern highlighted by the popcorn shooting. The Violence Policy Center has used press accounts and other sources to compile a database of deaths attributed to non-self-defense instances where concealed-carry permit holders fired their weapons. Since 2007, 555 people have been killed in 33 states in such instances.

“With alarming regularity, individuals licensed to carry concealed weapons instigate fatal shootings that have nothing to do with self-defense,” the Violence Policy Center's Ms. Rand said in a statement commenting on the Florida shooting.

I know people will come up with the usual "guns save lives " bullshit.  Bullshit since they have yet to come up with a serious study that backs that up. On the other hand, there are some people who are honest in this debate.

Meanwhile, some permit holders acknowledge that carrying a gun around in public can tweak a person’s decision matrix in the face of potential trouble, primarily by imparting to the gun-carrier a greater sense of responsibility and urgency in avoiding conflict.

That’s because of an understanding among responsible gun owners that, as one concealed carrier told the Monitor, “if it gets ugly, you know it can get ugly on an amazing scale.”

I am sure that when more serious research is undertaken it will reinforce the fact that relaxing the gun laws is a bad idea which has been driven by ideologues.  Remember that the studies were coming out that showed guns were a detriment when the funding for them was cut.

Ideologues driven by science fiction and the belief that "an armed society is a polite society"

WHY GUN NUTS ARE DANGEROUS - Just One More Example

Here is just one more instance of WHY it is we don't believe you when you insist you are safe.  I would call your attention to the fact that he had a CCW permit!

Here is one more example of why we don't want you around us, armed and a danger to us, even when you don't understand or believe or recognize that you are such a danger.  Here is WHY we don't want people carrying, either open or concealed, without a serious and compelling NEED to do so, and why we don't want your guns in church, school, the post office, or any other public places.

You lot REFUSE to recognize or acknowledge just how many incidents like this occur, including being shot by your own DOGS while out hunting, and shooting yourselves. 

It is not surprising that this occurred in Florida.

From MSNBC.com and the news services:

'Tragic accident': Pastor's daughter shot at Fla. church

Worshipper accidentally fires gun through wall

msnbc.com staff and news service reports

updated 2/13/2012 3:22:22 AM ET 2012-02-13T08:22:22 You bozos are dangerous. WE have a right not to have our safety threatened by you and your firearms.YOU have no natural right, no god-given right, no human right to those firearms, or to endanger us on the pretext of self-defense.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A pastor's daughter was accidentally shot in the head at a church in St. Petersburg, police said.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office was called to the Grace Connection Church at about 12:24 p.m. Sunday.
Investigators told The Associated Press that Moises Zambrana was showing his gun in a small closet to another church member interested in buying a firearm. Zambrana reportedly took out the magazine of the Reuger 9mm weapon but did not know there was a bullet in the chamber.
'We're all praying for her' The gun went off and fired through a wall, striking 20-year-old Hannah Kelley. She was transported to Bayfront Medical Center to undergo surgery and remained in critical condition late Sunday.
WTSP quoted church member Tony Diehl as saying that there was "a big level of concern" for Kelley.
"We're all praying for her and, right now, I guess that's the best we can do," Diehl added.
Deputies said Zambrana has a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
No charges have been filed.
Sheriff's office spokeswoman Cecilia Barreda told Tampa Bay Online that the incident appeared to be a "tragic accident."
The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.