It’s long been a talking point of the anti-gun left that gun ownership is really just a Caucasian male thing due to the “violent tendencies” of that particular group. It’s hard to argue that white males make up the majority of gun owners simply based on that fact that many women, unfortunately, tend to shy away from considering violence even for defensive purposes and that there are more Caucasians in the United States than other ethnicities.
But new statistics are challenging the anti-gunner narrative that gun ownership is a racist, sexist thing. Jenn Jacques writes,
According to the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), the number of concealed handgun permit holders has soared to an impressive 16.3 million law-abiding citizens!
But has that turned America into the “Wild West” as liberals feared?
Not quite.
It’s also interesting that despite the media’s claim the NRA is “racist and sexist”, some of the biggest increases in permits have been with women and African-Americans.
Among the findings in the report, John R. Lott highlights the following points:
- There are now over 16.3 million permit holders, a record 1.83 million increase in permits since last July.
- Nationwide, 6.5% adults have a concealed handgun permit. Outside of California and New York, 8% of adults have a permit.
- Permits for women and blacks are increasing much faster than they are for men and whites.
- There are also significant differences in not only the number of permits issued but also who gets them when politicians have discretion in granting them.
- Los Angeles County provides a vivid example of how women and Hispanics are given few permits when politicians decided who can defend themselves.
- Concealed carry permit holders also continue to be stringently law-abiding.
So, to set the record straight: women and African-Americans are getting more concealed carry permits, and the data is implying (if not outright saying) that where women and minorities feel the most threatened, the government keeps them from getting the protection that they need.
Which leads any sane person to ask, who is really the racist, sexist group in the gun control debate? Answer: the anti-gunners.