The editorial "Privatizing concealed carry database threatens public safety" (CT, Apr. 2) neglects much information that is essential to an honest discussion of the topic.
For those of us Americans who love freedom and value privacy, it is already disturbing that the government keeps any records relating lawful individuals and gun ownership. Publicizing this information adds insult to injury. Gun owners are not criminals to be tracked in public databases as sex offenders currently are.
There is no reason to believe that a database of concealed carry permit holders would assist in making sure that the "wrong people" don't possess guns, as the editorial board suggests.
Law-abiding gun owners and criminal gun owners cannot be grouped together for political purposes, as the criminals simply do not bother to comply with legal hurdles such as carrying permits.
Furthermore, the authors also imply that publication of this database was a positive example of government oversight of responsible gun owners. Anyone who appreciates their civil liberties should find the idea of "checks and balances" on their rights to be abhorrent. It's ludicrous to claim, as the editorial board has, that someone's right to privacy ends once they apply for a concealed carry permit.
Imagine a world in which everyone could freely find information provided by the government regarding who owns what guns and whether they are licensed to carry them in public. Does that sound like a safe place to live? If you answered yes, consider the fact that such information would be of the most practical use to criminals. Persons not in the database could be assumed to be unarmed and thus would find themselves at high risk to become victims of violent crime. The deterrence benefit of allowing concealed carry depends entirely on the element of uncertainty: Would-be assailants cannot know who has a gun and who does not. Publishing such information is much more of a threat to public safety than is withholding it.
If the principles of liberty and privacy alone are not convincing enough, look at the research for yourself. Various studies have shown that fewer violent crimes are committed in areas that allow concealed carry than in areas that do not.
Additionally, citizens who possess concealed carry permits are one of the most law-abiding segments of the population. Permit holders commit crimes at a rate strikingly less than that of the general populace.
They are not people to be held in suspicion or feared. Even if you do not personally know anyone who carries, it's likely that you often cross paths with someone carrying a gun without ever knowing it.
Instead of listening to propaganda based on fear and ignorance, the above facts are what need to be taken into consideration.
We should have nothing but thanks to give to permit holders who have chosen to burden themselves with such a grave responsibility for the benefit of society at large.
Jayton Gill
senior, computer science