Headline: Aiming to Change Image

Advocates for concealed weapons laws have some points to make

November 13, 2004
Chicago Tribune

Howard Witt, Tribune Southwest Bureau Chief, recently on assignment in
Phoenix

PHOENIX -- Depending on your point of view, the Shrine Auditorium in downtown Phoenix was either the safest or most dangerous place in the nation one Saturday night this fall.

Inside the main banquet hall, some 400 assorted Arizonans, nearly all of them with guns strapped to their hips, stashed in their waistbands or stuffed in
their purses, were gathered to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the state's concealed carry law, which allows citizens to pack heat wherever the sun
doesn't shine.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

All the major pro-gun groups were represented, of course, including the National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Foundation. So were some quirkier offshoots, such as the Second Amendment Sisters ("If you are a woman who owns a
gun, you have an equalizer") and Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership ("No nonsense. No compromise. No genocide."). There was a man dressed as Wyatt Earp--the infamous Gunfight at the OK Corral occurred in Tombstone--and another impersonating George Washington.

But what really distinguished the crowd was how devoutly law-abiding it was--and exceedingly polite too. As banquet organizer Alan Korwin jested in a news release after the dinner: "Food Service Very Slow But Waiters All Still Alive."

That was, in fact, the message the gathering last month was intended to drive home: Ordinary gun owners don't fit the wild-eyed caricatures often drawn by anti-gun groups. And they ought to be trusted to carry their weapons, openly or
concealed, wherever they wish.

"When the concealed carry law first started, the news was filled with fear of blood in the streets and Wild West shootouts at traffic lights, and all that turned out to be virtually delusional," said Korwin, whose company publishes manuals for gun owners.

Concealed weapons permits are one of the lightning-rod issues in the ceaseless
national debate over gun control, provoking divisive passions between rural and urban America. Here in the West, guns are about as common as bow ties are in Washington, D.C. But just as no self-respecting Arizonan would be caught dead wearing a bow tie, many residents of big cities such as Washington fear being
caught dead by people carrying concealed weapons.

Jeanne Carey, 64, understands the conflict. She was a lifelong Chicago resident--and an ardent foe of guns--until she moved to Phoenix two years ago.

"This is my home now, and you gotta get with the program," she said. "I went out and bought a Glock. Everybody has one. It's a fashion statement."

Only five states, Illinois among them, prohibit private citizens from carrying concealed weapons. In 11 others, police may deny permits based on their discretion. The other 34 states, like Arizona, allow any law-abiding citizen to obtain permission to carry a concealed weapon, although usually a background check and a gun-safety course are required. Pro-gun activists would like to see
concealed weapons allowed without restriction nationwide.