{}. my reading of the actual, empirical evidence is that guns are used ten times by honest people to protect themselves from harm for every one time they are used in the commission of crimes. One statistic will show the pattern: when Concealed Carry laws are passed, homicide rates go DOWN, by a national average of 8.5%. Why this would be, should be obvious enough. Criminals vastly prefer being the only ones armed. This means that, statistically, 8.5% of the murders in all States that do NOT have relatively lax Concealed Carry Laws were PREVENTABLE. This means the living breathing human beings, with families, kids, parents, jobs are murdered in these States simply because guns–like all tools, and they are tools–can be abused. The salient question, though, is: what public policy has the longest, best track record at preventing unnecessary death and violence? Yes, people use guns for suicide. Yes, accidents happen. But the evidence is that the quality of life is best when gun ownership is easy, and worse when it is not. Only 4% of guns used in crimes were purchased legally. Ponder that fact, then add the fact that at the moment there are well over a 100 million guns in circulation, many of them never registered. The practical, empirical, and moral approaches to this question all lead, in my mind, to the belief that we would be better served with MORE guns, and more places to carry them. I am compassionate. I do want what is best for my fellow humans. And after giving this a LOT of thought, these are the policy positions I have adopted as most likely to foster peace, and the well being of our nation.