GUNS

Fear keeping us from being safe

In response to Colorado's recent laws concerning concealed-carry firearms, Broomfield has prohibited firearms in its city and county buildings, parks and open space. The law's advocates hold an unjustifiable prejudice that gun owners are short-tempered and violent: Criminal justice student Jon Howell "wouldn't feel safe," and for County Attorney Roy Howard, armed citizens present a "grave concern" (Daily Camera, July 27).

These days, some may fear those who look Middle Eastern. If fear is a valid criterion for banning people from public places, should Broomfield ban such people from public places?

Neither advocate cites evidence that the ban deters violence. Howard mentions anecdotal "evidence": the murder of Councilman Davis in the New York City Hall. Like Columbine, the City Hall is a "gun-free zone," and its metal detectors, had he traversed them, probably would not have deterred such a determined killer.

Armed citizens save lives. According to economist John Lott, approximately 0.1 percent of concealed-carry permits get revoked. Police officers in New York City and Washington, D.C., get arrested more often than permit holders. In Texas, permit holders are about one-third as likely to be arrested as the general population and much less likely to commit serious crimes.

Criminals prey on victims who can't defend themselves. Both interviews with felons and Lott's study of liberalized concealed-carry laws confirm this: Criminals fear armed victims more than they do the police, and violent crime rates decline in areas where concealed-carry is allowed. Further, criminologist Gary Kleck found that guns are used defensively 2.5 million times every year, at least three times the rate of crimes committed with guns.

Like the overlords at CU-Boulder, the Broomfield authorities chant their childish "guns are scary" mantra to hold us hostage to their ignorance, violate our right of self-defense and leave us defenseless against thugs.

BRIAN SCHWARTZ, Boulder