As of Nov. 1, 2011, the concealed weapons law in the state of Wisconsin has changed, allowing residents to carry concealed weapons in Wisconsin as long as they have a permit to do so. I will not deny this law in theory could have some positive effects. However, the major cities in Wisconsin will be more dangerous because of the implementation of concealed carry.

Supporters of concealed carry say it is just as much a protection of citizens at large as their Second Amendment rights are. They say allowing citizens to carry weapons will prevent crime because citizens who carry guns will act as watchdogs over the community, intervening in the midst of the unthinkable. There certainly are a number of cases to support this. There are many anecdotal cases of liquor store owners saving their lives with the use of firearms. Just this month there was a case in which a woman in Oklahoma potentially saved herself by opening fire on an intruder (albeit in her home). There are cases in which firearms are a protection of citizens, however, this is not normally the case.

ABC News and the Bethlehem, Penn., police conducted an experiment regarding concealed carry in which students were trained to fire a weapon. Later, they simulated a gunman entering a lecture hall with the trained students being the only one carrying a weapon. The experiment found that while citizens carrying weapons do have the potential to be heroic, more often than not they will likely end up dead.

Proponents point to Michigan as a case in which after a concealed carry law was implemented in 2001, the crime rate dropped dramatically. It is true that Michigan has seen an approximately 15 percent decrease in violent crime in the past 10 years. However, many have noted that the connection isn’t strong enough.

Other states which have loosened concealed carry laws in the past 10 years have not seen the same success. Ohio has seen a virtually stagnant violent crime rate since allowing concealed carry in 2004. Missouri, Colorado and New Mexico, all which implemented conceal carry in 2003, saw large increases in violent crime in the following three to five years before seeing those rates decline. It is important to note that these states have seen their crime rates decline in the past three years; however, this is in accordance with the national average, which is now as low as it has been since 1979.

Even taking into account the potential good that could come from this law, it is impossible to separate it from the fact that guns are extremely dangerous. In 2007, roughly 31,000 people died because of gun-related incidents. The vast majority of those were homicides or suicides. Although violent gun deaths have seen a decrease in the past four years, guns are responsible for 68 percent of homicides in America and even a higher percentage in the inner cities.

Madison and Milwaukee could see an increased number of guns in the hands of the wrong people. Detroit’s violent crime rate dropped initially after the concealed carry law took effect in Michigan. But over the next three years, the violent crime rate spiked. 2012 is on pace to be the most violent year since the spike, and has 80 percent more homicides than it did at this point in 2008. The homicide rate in St. Louis has nearly doubled since 2003, when Missouri implemented their concealed carry. Minneapolis also saw an increase in homicides by about 33 percent between the implementation of concealed carry in 2003 and 2006 – thankfully, this has significantly dropped. Milwaukee and Madison have reason to fear a similar increase in violent crime (God forbid).

Because there is no reason to believe that concealed carry will discourage crime, and there is reason to believe that crime will increase in cities because of the law, it is ill-advised and should be repealed as soon as possible. Madison and Milwaukee should enforce the law as strictly as possible to assure the rate of violent crime is as low as possible. Hopefully we will not see the effects of this dangerous decision.

Spencer Lindsay ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in political science.