What state has the highest percentage of adults with carry permits?

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vito

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I know that the main stream media is usually loathe to report cases where a gun stops a crime, or prevents it from even starting, but it is still a surprise to me how rarely one hears about an armed citizen intervening into a criminal situation to save the day. Part of it, I assume, is that even armed individuals tend to not want to get involved if the threat is not directly aimed at them or someone close to them, but I tend to think the main answer is just that so few people, even with permits, actually go out into the public carrying a concealed firearm. This made me wonder what state or states have the highest percentage of their adult population possessing a carry permit, and the assumption that the percentage of permit holders who actually carry probably doesn't vary that much state to state. Do those states with relatively high percentages have more reported cases of licensed carriers stopping a crime? Or are the numbers just too small, even in the states with high percentages, to make it likely that an armed citizen will be in the vicinity when a crime initiates?
 
Vito, in our cpl class we were cautioned against about getting involved someones business other than our own. We were told that if it doesn't affect us or someone in our care, call the police but don't intervene with arms.

The case they used was a retired policeman exited a mall, a man in street clothes was beating up a uniformed police officer. The retired cop drew his revolver and fired killing the non-uniformed person. Hooray! saved a cop. Wrong the non-uniformed person was an undercover cop making an arrest. The uniformed cop was a dirty cop under investigation. this happened outside of Chicago several years ago, the retired cop will probably spend the rest of his life in prison. Point to be made here is mind your business, if you, personally are not threatened walk away and call the authorities....my.02
 
Utah shows:

442,412 Total Valid Permits as of March 31, 2013
32,439 Permits Issued 1st Quarter
6,819 Permits Renewed 1st Quarter
104 Permits Revoked 1st Quarter
177 Permits Suspended 1st Quarter
254 Applications Denied 1st Quarter

We have a current population of 2,817,222, giving us a carry permit ratio of .157. I can't find any information on how many of those permits are for non-residents.

Florida shows 19,317,568 as the current population. Using the above-mentioned 1 million permits figure, that gives them a ratio of .051.
 
7irontim said:
Vito, in our cpl class we were cautioned against about getting involved someones business other than our own. We were told that if it doesn't affect us or someone in our care, call the police but don't intervene with arms.

The case they used was a retired policeman exited a mall, a man in street clothes was beating up a uniformed police officer. The retired cop drew his revolver and fired killing the non-uniformed person. Hooray! saved a cop. Wrong the non-uniformed person was an undercover cop making an arrest. The uniformed cop was a dirty cop under investigation. this happened outside of Chicago several years ago, the retired cop will probably spend the rest of his life in prison. Point to be made here is mind your business, if you, personally are not threatened walk away and call the authorities....my.02
Click to expand...
I'd like to cite that case to my friends. Could you provide a reference?
 
Probably Arizona, which may be the most-populated state that has "Constitutional Carry". Every non-prohibited adult over 21 (maybe over 18?) has a carry permit.
 
The Government Accountability Office published a study in June 2012 that examined concealed carry permit data as of December 31, 2011. South Dakota showed the highest pure percentage of permits to adult population at 10.6%. Some other states had higher percentages, but reflected substantial numbers of non-resident permits (i.e. Utah).
 
The answer(s) to that question will take a lot of "searching" for data that can be found
maybe in the FBI data base. Maybe even the NRA has some stats.

Off the cuff answers, while interesting, are not factual.
 
Yeah, FL is high but look at Pennsylvania. I didn't expect that many there.
Click to expand...

Pennsylvania, fortunately, has a long gun owning, and hunting tradition. Lots of Fuds here, but many are also pro 2A as it was intended. The PA version of the 2A in the PA Constitution is even more clear than the Fed 2A. The right to keep and bear arms SHALL NOT BE QUESTIONED, is how it reads. While Philly, and Pittsburgh may be anti (legal) gun, the rest of the state is very 2A savvy.
 
Sav .250 said:
The answer(s) to that question will take a lot of "searching" for data that can be found
maybe in the FBI data base. Maybe even the NRA has some stats.

Off the cuff answers, while interesting, are not factual.
Click to expand...
It is all in Table 7 of the document linked by gc7 two posts (and 9 hours) before yours.
 
The answer to your question is Vermont, Arizona, and Alaska, where 100% of the adults in the state can legally carry concealed.
 
Highest percentage of permit holders? It look like Utah wins. I think a more relevant question though is what state has the highest percentage of adults who actually carry.

The gov study posted above is not a good represntation as states like Wyoming and Alaska, you do not need a permit to carry, nor AZ I believe. The only treason to get a permit in those states, is so other states allow you to carry when traveling. I live on the border of two states, and my permit covers me in both locals which is important as I travel between the two very regularly.

Well, I'd be willing to guess the state wityh the highest carry CC'er percentage is Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, or Alaska. It seems that the lower the population, the more conservative type people you run into that have a culture of "take care of yourself". When you live in a very low populated area or state as I do, the saying "When seconds count, the cops are only minutes away." actually can be "When seconds count, the cops are only hours away." In addition, less people means more animals usually, which can also cause issues and a need to carry.

When living in that type of place, a gun isn't seen as something you consider buying because you may need it, it is something everyone expects you to have in your home at the very least, because it is simply a tool for everyday possibilities. What state has the most carriers? I couldn't tell you for sure. As far as a % or a proportion, I'd guess one of the states I listed is the top, as a high carry to low population ratio would generate a large percentage.

There are more guns than people in my town. The nice part is there is typically very little crime in our middle of nowhere state states. If I decided to commit a crime, it sure wouldn't be around here. Someone would shoot me for sure. We don't have a lot of cops because we can't afford it, but we also don't have the need since everyone watches their own behinds and keeps their noses clean.
 
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vito said:
I know that the main stream media is usually loathe to report cases where a gun stops a crime, or prevents it from even starting, but it is still a surprise to me how rarely one hears about an armed citizen intervening into a criminal situation to save the day. Part of it, I assume, is that even armed individuals tend to not want to get involved if the threat is not directly aimed at them or someone close to them, but I tend to think the main answer is just that so few people, even with permits, actually go out into the public carrying a concealed firearm. This made me wonder what state or states have the highest percentage of their adult population possessing a carry permit, and the assumption that the percentage of permit holders who actually carry probably doesn't vary that much state to state. Do those states with relatively high percentages have more reported cases of licensed carriers stopping a crime? Or are the numbers just too small, even in the states with high percentages, to make it likely that an armed citizen will be in the vicinity when a crime initiates?
Click to expand...

Most of us who carry hope never to need to use our firearms. I have needed to make potential threats aware of me being armed only a couple of times in 20+ years, and I live in a major city. So the average person in a small city may never need to brandish their weapon, much less use it.

Additionally my state emphasizes that having a license to carry does not deputize us, nor give us the right to start fighting crime. So many would be reluctant to get involved in disputes/crimes unless it was a life or death situation.

`
 
I bet NY has a huge percentage of adults who have handgun licenses because you have to have a license to possess a handgun.
 
It's the Gunshine state, The million we reached didn't count the prior permits that weren't renewed and expired. Some folks just felt that if they had guns in the house car and business, they didn't need to carry.
Also that was "active" permits. There may be many inactive. Since you can legally buy a gun with just your ID, who really knows how many guns there are in FL.
I would say more than 50% of the folks easily, have a gun. If I count down 10 houses each way, just from what I know, easily half of my neighbors have guns "that I know of", many won't come out and mention it either way. But over 5 years you begin to get a feel for who does and who doesn't.
I was surprised when I asked for shooting partners, on the community website, and after enough local gun shows, you kind of are able to figure it out. many from NY or Chicago, don't, for the first few years, until someone takes them shooting, then they usually enjoy it and get their own.
 
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