ST. PAUL, Minn., March 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A report issued
today by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shows that the
conceal and carry law of 2003/2005 has not delivered any benefit to public
safety.
    Citizens for a Safer Minnesota has the following comments on the report:

    --  The report shows that local law enforcement spends a significant
        amount of its time processing these applications, with 9,611 processed
        last year. We do not consider it good public policy to allocate
        law enforcement effort to a job not related to the improvement of
        public safety.

    --  From a public health perspective, it makes no sense to increase the
        public's exposure to the hazard of loaded firearms. This report shows
        that nearly one percent of Minnesota's population now has a permit to
        carry pistols in public places.

    --  Getting a permit to carry is too easy, and irresponsible people are
        getting permits. Seventy-nine permit holders committed crimes in 2006,
        including the following: Terroristic threats, domestic assault,
        criminal sexual conduct using a firearm, child neglect, reckless
        handling of a firearm, assault, and drive-by shooting.

    Our analysis shows the following on costs:

    --  Financial: In 2003, it was estimated that the cost to the state to
        administer the law would be about $2 million. The actual expense to
        the state is not reported by the BCA. Sheriffs who deny a permit bear
        an unreasonably heavy burden of proof to show there is a "substantial
        likelihood" that the applicant would harm himself or others. Failure
        to reach that high bar costs the public the legal fees of the
        applicant and acts to discourage the denial of permits to dangerous
        people.

    --  Non-financial: Civil society is eroded when the threat of deadly force
        becomes more commonplace. In 2006, a permit holder pulled a gun on
        another woman over a Wal-Mart parking space. The victim's children
        were with her. Here is the link to the news article:
        http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/s19434.shtml

    --  Benefits: None. Crime has not decreased, and gun deaths and injuries
        are continuing a general upward trend. The number of justified uses of
        firearms by permit holders in 2006 was 0.
    The following are predictions made by proponents of conceal and carry
that were wrong:
    --  That conceal and carry would reduce crime. This was asserted by John
        Lott, author of More Guns, Less Crime, before the Minnesota
        legislature during the debate. The National Academy of Sciences
        examined Lott's data and, in a 2004 report, stated that the evidence
        did not support Lott's conclusions. Minnesota crime figures (available
        at the FBI web site) do not show improved public safety. Health
        department statistics show that gun deaths and injuries are
        increasing, not decreasing.

    --  That permit holders would not commit crimes. The report shows that, as
        mentioned above, they do commit crimes. This is not surprising, given
        that even people whom local law enforcement considers unqualified have
        been granted permits. Under the law, conviction of crimes including
        witness tampering and arson do not disqualify an applicant. Neither
        does a conviction of interference with a 911 call or disorderly
        conduct, which are typically associated with domestic assault.

    --  That criminals would not benefit from the permit to carry law because
        they wouldn't file applications. The report shows that gang members
        and other criminals do apply for permits, and that at least 17 people
        that law enforcement considered a "danger to self and others" got
        permits anyway.

    Recommendations:

    --  Change the permit application requirement so that an applicant needs
        to show a need to carry a handgun in public places.

    --  Disqualify from receiving permits anyone convicted of a violent
        misdemeanor.

    --  Disclose the particulars of cases in which permit holders committed
        crimes, injured or nearly injured others; determine how each instance
        could have been prevented.

    --  Make trespass with a firearm a crime and allow property owners to
        regulate firearms on their own property.
    This lax conceal and carry law does not improve public safety. It
places additional burdens on law enforcement and increases unnecessary
exposure by the public to loaded firearms. The state should use an injury
prevention approach similar to that used in industry, in which both
injuries and near misses are investigated in detail, and practices are
developed and put into place that prevent gun death and injury.
    Citizens for a Safer Minnesota recognizes that gun ownership, hunting
and shooting sports are part of Minnesota's heritage and does not seek to
change that. CSM seeks to show that low gun death and injury can be
achieved in communities with gun ownership by using responsible preventive
measures.
    Contact: Heather Martens, President, (612) 822-3322

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