Florida's no obligation to retreat law generating hysterical fears

"We created a monster," said Mark Lipinski. "It's a horrible law. It's simply going to embolden people to carry guns. You are giving people license to use their guns in situations that are going to get them in trouble."

My prediction is just as the fears over right-to-carry laws generally have never been born out, these fears will also prove to be unfounded. This type of law is already in effect in other places and has not caused any problems there. I noted this to the reporter who did this story. He did not discuss that point, but it seems the fastest way to shut down these hypothetical fears.

Concealed-carry license statistics

• Number of Florida permits in issuance as of April 30: 342,743. . . .

• Since Oct.1, 1987, 1,028,541 licenses have been issued.

• Since Oct. 1, 1987, 2,782 licenses have been revoked from holders who committed a crime. The licensed firearm was used in 155 of those cases.

• Roughly one-third of permit holders are males between the ages of 36 and 50.

• 86 percent of all permit holders are males.

My only note is that it would be nice to mention that the 155 firearms violation cases do not mean that the gun was "used." For example, most of those apparently involved accidentally carry a gun into a restricted area.