Playing the Race Card

[¿Que?]

So, recently I got into a discussion about CHL and concealed carry laws. I really don't know why I even got into this discussion, but I'm guessing it must have had something to do with the fact that's it's pretty hot topic down here. I really know very little on the topic, and I flew in half cocked and making outlandish uncorroborated claims. What's funny is that I actually believed what I was posting. As for the two guys I was debating, well, that is really a matter up for debate. I mean, the amount of misinformation coming from these guys was incredible. What's worse, most of it could be easily refuted by looking up the sources which were often accessible through Google. These two guys were just so consistently lying, it was comical, really. Now I have very mixed feelings about gun control. Living in the South, you sort of learn to respect people's right to have weapons for protection, hunting, or whatever. At the same time pro-gun advocates tend to have this weird, covert racism thing going. In my State, almost 90% of CHL holders are white. I'm still trying to wrap my head around what that could possibly mean. Also, when you look at denied CHL applications, it seems like there are a lot of black people being rejected. I'm not sure what that could possibly mean, either. But I made a comment alluding to these things, and now I think I'm going to get accused of playing the race card. Because what these guys had been citing was some statistics from 2006 showing that CHL holders were less likely to be convicted of any crime than the general population. And all I said was that in order for that statistic to mean anything, you had to control for race and socio-economic status. But these guys are like really scummy, lying types that'll do anything to divert attention from their lies and misinformation, at least when someone calls them on it.

What do yall think.

[Jalapeno Enema]

is your state shall-issue or may-issue?
are there any unusual permit requirements?
what kind of fee do you have to pay for CHLs?

I'm just poking around the idea of how blatant any racially-influenced CHL license denials could be.

I'd also look into what kind of laws were broken by CHL and non-CHL holders.
If I couldn't pay for a car registration, for example, I'm breaking the law, easily caught, and and paying for a CHL is not going to be a priority for me (so if the crime disparity is primarily misdemeanors, but felonies are about the same, that's significant.)

[¿Que?]

is your state shall-issue or may-issue?
I don't know, I'll have to check.

are there any unusual permit requirements?
Don't know.

what kind of fee do you have to pay for CHLs?
I think it's around $140 and about $50 for renewall or reissue, or somehting along those lines.

I'm just poking around the idea of how blatant any racially-influenced CHL license denials could be.
I don't know, it seemed pretty high. I mean the percentage of CHL holders who are black was something very low, like 3% or 4%. But I remember distinctly the percentage denied CHL where the applicant was black was I think 20%. It seemed disproportionally high compared to all other race/ethnicities. If you'd like I could dig up the specific figures. I know where to look.

I'd also look into what kind of laws were broken by CHL and non-CHL holders.
If I couldn't pay for a car registration, for example, I'm breaking the law, easily caught, and and paying for a CHL is not going to be a priority for me (so if the crime disparity is primarily misdemeanors, but felonies are about the same, that's significant.)Yeah, that's a good point. I'll have to check that too.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I mean, you could look at Vermont (which has simultaneously one of the lowest crime rates and one of the most unrestricted gun policies in the nation) and then look at California and draw the conclusion that gun control = more crime, but I think that would be overlooking a number of other factors.

As far as concealed carry laws go, I don't really have any idea what they're like here, or how stringent they are. I would imagine that a look at how the process works would definitely be helpful. The two states I lived in prior couldn't have been more different in terms of their handgun regulations...in one you could walk into a gunshop, buy a pistol and carry it around town with you in your pocket without a license and remain within the law, and in the other it was nearly impossible to get a concealed carry permit.

[¿Que?]

Ouch. I just realized 82% of my state is white. And that only 86% of CHL holders are white. I'm not sure if the other races are representative of the general population, but white CHL holders, based on a cursory view, seem to be. So my whole race argument falls right out of the water. Even worse, I'll probably be called a racist, since I insinuate that blacks and Latinos are more likely to be convicted of a crime and therefore criminals. In any case, I did catch the other guy in a straight up bold face lie, so if he don't say anything, I won't either...