Seminole
Member
One of two stories today in the Memphis Commercial Appeal on Handgun Carry Permits, which in TN allow citizens to carry either openly or concealed. In particular, notice the absolutely unsupported allegation that law-abiding citizens arming themselves contributes to Memphis's high murder rate rather than vice-versa.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/aug/03/3guns2080308/
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/aug/03/3guns2080308/
For Valencia Clay, carrying a handgun is like toting a safety blanket.
Standing just over 5 feet tall, the 54-year-old Clay is a petite woman who believes a handgun is a necessary precaution -- like the shotgun she keeps by the bed at her Cordova home.
Clay is among a fast-growing number of Shelby County residents seeking a permit to conceal and carry handguns in Tennessee.
According to data from the Tennessee Department of Safety, the number of concealed-weapons permits issued annually in Shelby County has more than doubled since 2004 -- ballooning from 2,307 four years ago to 4,666 today.
Shelby County residents aren't simply exercising their Second Amendment rights. Like Clay, these gun owners' fears are rising with each violent crime they see on the evening news.
"That's the world we live in," Clay said. "It's like we're going back to the Wild, Wild West."
But in the Bluff City, perception of crime may not be reality.
Local and federal law enforcement agencies have reported a year-over-year decrease in violent crime in the Memphis area. In fact, according to an FBI study released in June, crime in the city decreased 4 percent from 2006 to 2007.
Scott Kilby, the 35-year-old owner of Range USA on Whitten Road, believes crime numbers aren't the reason more people are arming themselves. Instead, he said, citizens are reaching for guns because the stories they hear suggest crime is becoming more violent.
"The ones that really hit home are the gruesome stories like the Lester Street murders," Kilby said. "It really makes people feel that no one's safe no matter where you are."
His students agree.
Amanda Suzore, a 42-year-old Bartlett resident who took Kilby's handgun-safety course, said she believes crime, before perceived as limited to Memphis, is now spreading to safe suburban havens.
"Even in Bartlett, in the past two years, there has been more crime," Suzore said.
Chris Fowler, who teaches gun safety at Top Brass Sports in Millington, has noticed an escalating sense of urgency in his students.
"Every time there's a shooting in Memphis, more people come (to the class)," said the 58-year-old Fowler.
In a class of 20, Fowler commonly has about three students who have been robbed at gunpoint, he said.
Although licensed firearms make up only a fraction of the weapons on the streets, the figures for the concealed-and-carry permits indicate there are more guns in Shelby County than in any other county in Tennessee. In fact, the number of Shelby County permits -- 29,544 -- is more than double Davidson County's 13,119 and nearly triple Knox County's 11,641.
With such a large cache of weapons available in Memphis-area homes, more and more firearms wind up in the hands of trigger-happy criminals, said Steve Shular, a spokesman for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.
"There is a connection," he said. "The majority of the guns used by criminals are guns taken in burglaries."
Those guns may also exacerbate Memphis' murder rate, which is among the highest in the nation. From 2005 to 2007, according to a study by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, firearms were the most frequently reported weapon used in state homicides.
But these unintended consequences aren't likely to dissuade law-abiding citizens from buying 9mm security blankets, Kilby said.
"The need to protect is such a universal issue," he said. "Especially here in Memphis, with the crime."
-- Lani Lester: 529-2395
Shelby County Handgun Permit Issues
2007
Originals: 4,666
Renewals: 3,663
Total: 8,329
2006
Originals: 3,509
Renewals: 4,324
Total: 7,833
2005
Originals: 2,395
Renewals : 5,899
Total: 8,294
2004
Originals: 2,307
Renewals: 2,263
Total: 4,570
Total number of handgun permits in Shelby County: 29,544
Source: Tennessee Department of Safety
