“An armed society is a polite society.”

– Robert A. Heinlein

Criminals, by definition, don’t obey laws. And those intent on committing a crime with a gun will not be deterred by gun control laws. But, with few exceptions, even criminals believe in self-preservation, and are less likely to attack someone capable of fighting back. Hence, the importance of the right to arm and defend oneself and others.

These pro-Second Amendment arguments are familiar to us here in the United States, but the “more guns, less crime” experience of the U.S. is being trumpeted in a somewhat unlikely place: Panama. The Central American nation has been struggling with rising crime, gang activity and forged gun permits. In order to address these problems, and promote personal safety, the government is preparing to lift its ban on firearms imports, in place since 2012, so that citizens may better defend themselves.

According to the PanAm Post, “Public Safety Minister Rodolfo Aguilera said the country will follow in the footsteps of the United States and Switzerland, where the right to bear arms is believed to lead to fewer homicides.”

“Everything seems to indicate that there is no direct correlation in the aphorism that says more guns mean more crime,” said Mr. Aguilera, who cited the 20-year decline in the homicide rate in the U.S. as gun laws have simultaneously been relaxed.

One of the primary ways gun laws in much of the country have been loosened is through the easing of restrictions on carrying a concealed weapon. A number of states no longer require a government permit at all. A recent report from the Crime Prevention Research Center, a nonprofit organization established by the man who literally wrote the book on “More Guns, Less Crime,” John R. Lott Jr., examines this trend, since just prior to the beginning of the Obama administration, and its relation to falling rates of violent crime.

Among the study’s findings are the following:

• “Between 2007-14, murder rates have fallen from 5.6 to 4.2 (preliminary estimates) per 100,000. This represents a 25 percent drop in the murder rate at the same time that the percentage of the adult population with permits soared by 178 percent. Overall violent crime also fell by 25 percent over that period of time.”

• “Concealed handgun permit holders are extremely law-abiding. In Florida and Texas, permit holders are convicted of misdemeanors or felonies at one-sixth the rate that police officers are convicted.”

• While 5.2 percent of the U.S. population has a concealed carry permit, the rate is only 0.24 percent in California. According to the CPRC study, “State level permit data suggest that each 1 percentage point increase in the adult population holding permits is roughly associated with a 25 percent drop in the murder rate.” However, “Giving government officials discretion in who gets permits reduces the percent of adults who get permits by more than two-thirds.”

It has been said that President Barack Obama is the best gun salesman in history, as he incites fear over his (and other gun-control advocates’) gun control policy goals. “Whenever there is a call for gun control, sales increase,” Larry Keane, general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told the New York Daily News.

Since 2007, gun sales, as measured by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, have nearly doubled, from about 11 million to 21 million. And gun sales continued to break records this summer, with 4.8 million background checks performed in June, July and August. Moreover, the number of concealed handgun permits has nearly tripled since 2007, to 12.8 million. The trend has been particularly strong among women and minorities.

As Mr. Lott’s research demonstrates, this surge in the number of responsible citizens keeping and bearing arms bodes well for individual liberty and public safety, both in the U.S. and in Panama.