Conceal Carry - Policy Analysis

Conceal Carry - Policy Analysis I

CJA/464

Conceal Carry - Policy Analysis I

In the state of South Dakota, a person who wants to carry a weapon currently must have a permit. This permit ensures that the person carrying the weapon is 18 or older and has never plead guilty to, nolo contendere to, or convicted of a felony or a crime of violence. This permit requires looking at the person’s history in a habitually intoxicated or drugged condition, the history of violence, or has been found in the previous 10 years to be a “danger to others” or a “danger to self.” These permits provide information on residency longer than 30 days within the county he or she is attempting to obtain the permit in and that there are no violations of firearm control, unlawful use of weapons, and substance control from the last five years prior to applying. Of course the final requirement of gaining a permit is he or she must not be a fugitive of the law. The requirements also show a form completion of age, race, address, and other descriptive information before a person is allowed to conceal and carry a weapon (USA Carry, 2012). However, in four states, Alaska, Arizona, Vermont, and Wyoming this requirement is not in place and is currently in debate in South Dakota and 11 other states.

The issue not to have a permit concerns many however; others are for the idea of more constitutional rights given by the second amendment (Montgomery, 2012). Many believe that eliminating the process of possessing permits will “bypass a layer of bureaucracy” that can prevent people who should not have one. This means eliminating the section of history of violence, drug conditions, issues of experiencing a danger to others, and to oneself. On the other side people see this as the ability to let law-abiding citizens have more rights as the Constitution gives them.

The idea of eliminating the conceal carry permits can have an effect on police officers. A police officer will have to do on the spot background checks to see if the person carrying the weapon is legal to be carrying. This can cause many issues with illegal trafficking of guns through the state as well to gang members and other criminal organizations. The other concern police officers have is that people with mental illnesses can carry concealed weapons (Montgomery, 2012). The sheriffs deny permits to many people because of serious issues that come up during the permit process. The law enforcement officials across South Dakota object the bill because of the safety hazard it can bring. Many officers argue that the permit steps are very easy and helpful to identifying those that should not be carrying (Ellis & Young, 2012).