Gov. Bush Gets It Right, Says CCRKBA; Armed Citizens Reduce Crime

13 July 2006

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush "nailed it" when he told reporters in Tallahassee - in reaction to the state's drop in crime - that armed citizens are part of the equation, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today.

Gov. Bush was quoted in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel noting, "Law abiding citizens that have guns for protection actually probably are part of the reason we have a lower crime rate."

Florida is one of 40 states with "right-to-carry" statutes that give citizens the ability to carry concealed handguns with the proper license. Last year, Florida also passed legislation that enables citizens to "stand their ground" and fight back when attacked in a public place where they have a right to be.

"Gov. Bush has once again demonstrated progressive thinking, and a clear understanding about what works to stop criminals in their tracks," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "Legally-armed citizens are a threat to nobody but criminals, and Florida's crime statistics prove that the presence of firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens benefits the entire community. In explaining why crime rates have dropped, we think Gov. Bush nailed it."

"Isn't it ironic," added CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron, "that while Florida, with an armed citizenry, is enjoying a drop in crime, Washington, D.C., where citizens are legally disarmed, is experiencing a crime epidemic? In the nation's capitol, where the Second Amendment has been literally suspended by municipal government fiat, armed assaults are up 18 percent in the past month and robberies have jumped 14 percent. Yet law-abiding citizens cannot arm themselves for protection. It's an outrage."

"No matter where they live," Gottlieb concluded, "American citizens have a right to defend themselves. Progressive states like Florida with sensible concealed carry and self-defense laws will lead this nation out of the Dark Ages of insane gun control and broken justice systems. This new data shows that the gun control and criminal rights extremists have been wrong, something we've known all along."

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms ( http://www.ccrkba.org ) is one of the nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.

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Source: usnewswire

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