John Lott has published his Concealed Carry Permit Holders Across the United States: 2020 and there’s lots of good news in it.
- The number of concealed handgun permits has soared to over 19.48 million – a 34% increase over 2016.
- Seventeen states no longer provide data on all the people who are legally carrying a concealed handgun because people in those states no longer need a permit to carry.
- Permits for women and minorities continue to increase at a much faster rate than for either men or whites.
- Five states now have over 1 million permit holders: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Florida is the first state to have over 2 million permits.
And more. On personal note, I’m proud that my own state is one of those with a million-plus. That’s particularly impressive, because the last time I checked, we were only around 700,000; about 1 in 8 adults.
Other goods news is that chart above. It shows the murder rate has declined as the CCW rate increases. That’s not news to TTAG regulars, but it’s nice to see it confirmed for yet another year. In case some gun-grabbing type wants to argue that the murder rate trend is really almost flat, so it doesn’t mean anything, take a look at the CCW vs. violent crime trend. Concealed carry is up while violent crime down.
But the trend is even more noticeable, to the point where one cannot honestly deny it.
I’m looking forward to next year’s report, which should reflect 2020’s millions of new gun owners. Good job, people. Keep it up, and let’s get those new folks trained and carrying.