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Friday, June 24, 2005
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Armed and ready-10 years with the Oklahoma Self Defense Act has seen violent crime rates fall

By Chris Pryor
Phoenix Staff Writer

In the 10 years Oklahoma citizens have been allowed to carry
weapons concealed, crime has fallen, gun owners and
advocates say.

Muskogee residents who carry concealed weapons, and who live
in an area with a higher than average crime rate, say that
at the moment of a crime, only two people are at the scene -
the criminal and the victim – and victims should have the
right to defend themselves.

“If you have an extreme problem, you can solve it yourself,”
said J.B. Satterfield, who is a member of the Muskogee Gun
Club and possesses a concealed carry license.

The state Legislature passed the Oklahoma Self Defense Act
in 1994, which became effective in January 1995, and
concealed carry license holders agree that the law has been
effective at suppressing crimes against individuals in
Oklahoma. Other states are beginning to adopt concealed
carry laws of their own to help combat violent crime.

According to data from the Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigation, 17,637 concealed carry licenses were approved
in 2004, 319 of which were granted to residents of Muskogee
County.

Accounting for population differences, the number of new
licenses in the county is average compared to other, larger
counties.

Charles Smith, executive director of the Oklahoma Rifle
Association, said about half a million Oklahomans – or about
one-seventh of the state population – hold licenses to carry
concealed weapons.

The OSBI’s most recent data shows that violent crime in
Oklahoma has fallen by 18 percent since the act was passed,
from 21,748 reported in 1995 to 17,776 reported in 2003.

Smith and Ashley Varner, a spokeswoman for the National
Rifle Association, said crime against individuals has fallen
in the 10 years that the concealed carry law has been in
effect.

Varner said in states where the NRA has pushed concealed
carry statutes, violent crime fell in every instance.

“The states as a whole have seen crimes against persons -
robbery, rape, burglary, assault – have decreased because
criminals no longer know who has a firearm on them and who
doesn’t,” Varner said.

Violent crime had been on the rise eight years when
lawmakers decided to act in 1994 to write the concealed
carry statute, according to Smith and OSBI data.

Law enforcement officials, though hesitant to attribute the
decline in violent crime to the concealed carry law, support
the concealed carry statute.

“I’m for it,” said Warner Police Chief Terry Thompson. “I
have no problem with good, decent law-abiding citizens
having the right to carry a weapon.”

Andy Blizzard, assistant chief of police in Checotah, said
many criminals may be thinking twice about striking because
they can’t tell who’s armed and who’s not, but he wasn’t
ready to say whether the concealed carry law has had a
direct impact on violent crime.

Yet Blizzard said Washington, D.C., which has one of the
top-staffed police forces in the country and the strictest
laws against gun ownership, also has one of the highest
rates of violent crime.

Thirty-eight states have concealed carry laws of some sort.
Missouri, which implemented a concealed carry law in
January, joins other states like Florida that are now
strengthening statutes that permit citizens to carry
weapons.

Originally published June 24, 2005
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By the numbers

# Average age of those given concealed carry licenses in
Muskogee County: 55.

# Percent of new license holders in Oklahoma who are black:
1.9 percent.

# Percent of new license holders in Oklahoma who are white:
94.2 percent.

How to apply

Request an application packet from the Oklahoma State Bureau
of Investigation at (800) 207-6724 or e-mail
[email protected]

Firearm defense tips

# Keep your head: A close encounter with an intruder can
kick the adrenaline pumps into high gear. Remember to
always think safety; oftentimes, simply escaping the
intruder is enough to stay safe. Defense experts say more
distance between the victim and intruder usually increases
the victim’s chances of escaping an encounter unscathed.

# Think self-defense: If you encounter a crime in progress,
it’s always best to call law enforcement first before – if
ever – becoming involved yourself. Your interference,
though well-intentioned, could escalate the situation.

File downloads: # The Self-Defense Act (Adobe Acrobat
Reader required)