In a Los Angeles Times op-ed on Thursday, the Los Angeles city attorney and police chief teamed up to disseminate more falsehoods and half-truths than any politicians should ever undertake in one newspaper column.
Opposing the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act under consideration in Congress, City Attorney Mike Feuer and Police Chief Charlie Beck wrote, “More concealed weapons on California streets would make police work here much more hazardous.” The duo further pontificated: “The mere presence of more concealed weapons on California streets would make police work here much more hazardous.”
In making such blatantly false statements, Feuer and Beck completely ignore the success of concealed carry throughout the nation. Between 2007 and 2015, U.S. concealed-carry permit numbers rose 215 percent, and the murder rate dropped 14 percent during that same time period. Furthermore, according to data provided by Florida and Texas, concealed carriers are between six and 10 times less likely to commit a crime than are police officers—who, in turn, are more law-abiding than the general population.
