Hello,

This is with regards to your story titled "Packing Heat" at:
[url]http://abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/2020/2020_010716_concealedweapons.html[/url]

Thank you for contacting Ms. Suzanna Hupp, who helped provide a little balance to your story.

FYI, Wayne Lambert, the cab driver in your story, died of a heart attack in an Austin jail a few months ago.  I wonder if your correspondent spoke to him using an Ouija board!

You may be interested in a discussion of whether a law that permits law abiding individuals to carry concealed guns actually reduces criminal attack, or if it increases the risk of accidental shootings or unjustified shootings.  A news article on the subject is available at:
[url]http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,19857,00.html[/url]

The news article discusses a study by Dr. John Lott at:
[url]http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JLS/lott.pdf[/url]

I was disappointed to find no general mention of lawful self defense using firearms in today's day and age.  Law abiding citizens in America use their guns to defend themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million times a year, far more than the estimated 500,000 crimes committed with guns every year.  In almost all these cases, the mere display and brandishing of the gun by the citizen causes the criminal to retreat to safer pastures, with no shots being fired, and with no one getting hurt.  Not surprisingly, these non-events seldom make the evening news.

I am enclosing a link to a Firearms Fact Sheet, which may challenge many of the "facts" propagated by the mainstream media.  This Fact Sheet is produced by Gun Owners of America, a pro-gun organization, but every claim made is rigorously backed up by citations, many of which are from neutral sources.  I invite you to read it and gain another perspective on the gun control debate:

[url]http://www.gunowners.org/fs0101.htm[/url]

I also invite you to visit the web site of the The Journalist's Guide to Gun Policy Scholars and Second Amendment Scholars at:
[url]http://www.gunscholar.org[/url]

Quoted:
I must say I'm pretty encouraged.  I got online and voted as soon as I saw the broadcast.  I think the final tally was about 78% for concealed carry and 22% against.  There's no way to know if that 20,000+/- sampling is a true measure, but, as I said, it is at the very least encouraging.

Keep the voices loud and rally all your brothers to do the same!  Way to go guys!

Bill