Dr. John R. Lott Jr., who runs the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), today released yet another of the Center’s outstanding reports, entitled: “Concealed Carry Permit Holders Across the US”. (The full report is embedded at the bottom of this post.)

The report’s biggest takeaway was the continued acceleration of concealed carry licensing across the country. Those familiar with Dr. Lott’s seminal book “More Guns Less Crime” will not be surprised to learn that murder rates in the United States continue to plummet even as concealed carry continues to skyrocket:

The report revealed a change in demographics behind this ongoing acceleration of concealed carry licensing.

In Texas, for example, the single most rapidly growing demographic in terms of concealed carry licensing is, wait for it: black women, followed closely by Asian women. Good for them.

Indeed, the only demographics seeing a downturn in the rate of increase (not the absolute numbers) of concealed carry permits between 2013 and 2014 are white males and females (where the concealed carry “market” may be close to saturated) and American Indians, who had been obtaining concealed carry permits at an absolutely astonishing rate of increase as recently as the prior year.

Overall, the number of concealed handgun permits has grown to nearly 13 million, and has seen a nearly 1.7 million permit (more than 15%) increase in the last year alone.

Dr. Lott also notes that the states that have experienced the biggest drops in murder and violent crime also just happen to be the states that have experienced the biggest increases in concealed carry permits.

Coincidence? You decide.

Those are just highlights from the report, and of course I urge you to read the whole thing. As promised, here’s the report in full:

–-Andrew, @LawSelfDefense

Attorney Andrew Branca and his firm Law of Self Defense have been providing internationally-recognized expertise in American self-defense law for almost 20 years in the form of blogging, books, live seminars & online training (both accredited for CLE), public speaking engagements, and individualized legal consultation.

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