Tim Schmidt, president and founder of the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, was a guest on Tuesday’s Breitbart News Daily to talk about the weekend’s terror attacks. As SiriusXM host Alex Marlow noted, they were further examples of the jihadist strategy of hitting “soft targets” or “anti-gun safe spaces” featuring large numbers of unarmed victims.
“The bottom line is that gun-free zones, they simply do not work,” said Schmidt. “Criminals pay no attention to these gun-free zones. Ultimately, what happens is that only law-abiding citizens pay attention to them, so what you have, in essence, is a whole bunch of soft targets.”
“The crazy thing is that our politicians, they want to expand these gun-free zones, when the fact of the matter is that education, training, and responsible gun ownership is really the only sustainable violence-reducing solution,” he added.
Marlow noted that while President Obama has been unable to impose many stronger gun control measures, his constant calls for them have driven a stratospheric rise in Americans’ concerns about the loss of their Second Amendment rights, propelling increased gun sales and applications for concealed-carry permits.
“You’re right, there’s been a huge increase in concealed-carry permits,” Schmidt agreed. He said:
Over the entire span of Barack Obama’s presidency, concealed-carry permits have gone from roughly 6 million to almost 15 million people in the U.S. The reason that’s happening is, you know, everyone wants their family to be safe and secure, and more and more Americans are deciding to accept that responsibility as their own. I think it’s a good thing.
Marlow cited Missouri as the latest state to allow concealed carry without a permit.
“I believe now with Missouri on board, there’s four states that allow what I refer to as ‘Constitutional carry,’” said Schmidt.
He defined the term by noting “the fact that the Founders of our country affirmed the natural right to self-defense in our Constitution with, of course, the Second Amendment; so, therefore, the argument is that you shouldn’t need to ask permission to exercise a natural-born right that’s affirmed in our Constitution.”
“The best part about concealed carry is that everybody doesn’t have to do it, for the vast majority of the population to get the benefit,” he pointed out, adding:
If there’s only roughly three percent of our citizens that are carrying concealed, you’re gonna have this powerful deterrent effect that the bad guys, the criminals, they’ll have no idea who’s carrying and who isn’t. But because three percent are, naturally, crime will go down because they’re never gonna know who’s gonna have the gun.
Marlow asked how listeners could “get involved and fight back” against encroachments upon the Second Amendment, pointing out that its defense was as vitally necessary as sticking up for the First Amendment.
“Well, I love your thoughts about the First and the Second Amendment, and the fact of the matter is that if the Second Amendment goes away, the First will go away, as well,” Schmidt replied.
“How can people help? You can support organizations like Gun Owners of America, the Second Amendment Foundation. These are fantastic nonprofits that are fighting tooth and nail for those rights,” he suggested. “If you, yourself, want to get involved in learning how to become that responsibly armed citizen, check out the USCCA. We’re all about education, training, and ultimately, self-defense insurance for responsible gun owners.”
Marlow asked how the gun-rights movement has been so successful throughout the Obama years, despite sustained attack from the White House, the Democratic Party, activist groups, and much of the media.
Schmidt replied:
I would say the reason that the pro-Second Amendment movement has not been squashed by – you’re right: the unbelievably powerful mainstream media Left – is because of the principles. The underlying principles are so true, and ultimately, people understand that the only way to protect and defend themselves is if they can do it on their own.
“I kinda liken it to a drip of water that has unbelievable power over course of time. There’s lots of people like me out there, and ultimately we will prevail in this,” he concluded.
Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
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