This is not an urban legend. The Des Moines Register decided to find out who was able to get a concealed carry permit in Iowa, and they found at least 50 sex offenders (listed on the state sex offender registry) who are licensed to carry a concealed weapon. Most were convicted of misdemeanor sex crimes (although three were felons), but that shouldn't put anyone at ease -- many felonious sex offenders started out committing misdemeanors, and others had felony charges reduced to a misdemeanor in exchange for a guilty plea.Jerry Dunbar, Washington County sheriff and president of the Iowa State Sheriffs and Deputies Association, said of the finding, "My concern of a sex offender having a gun is they try to typically rule in a bullish way to influence people -- and just the presence of a gun on a hip could be a threat to get people to cooperate. They intimidate to get what they want." The sheriff is right. As much as any criminal, sex offenders are intimidators -- and allowing them to carry a gun just gives them another tool with which to intimidate (and poses a substantial risk for those who might try to rescue one of their victims).
One sex offender (on the sex offender registry for an indecent exposure in 2005) with a concealed carry permit told the newspaper that he posed no danger to the public and only used his guns for hunting. But concealed carry permits are not issued for hunting rifles (since they cannot be concealed on your person). He has a permit to carry a handgun. What is he hunting with a handgun -- human victims? The only thing a handgun is good for is to intimidate or kill humans at close range.
This is just crazy. Sex offenders (and domestic abuse misdemeanor offenders) should never have a concealed carry permit. In fact, in my opinion, they should not be allowed to even own any kind of firearm -- because the sex offenders are likely to offend again (and the gun makes that easier) and the domestic abusers are the most likely to injure or kill a member of their own family with a gun.
It's time for some reasonable gun restrictions in this country. Guns may not kill people, but they certainly make it much easier for criminals and other dangerous people to injure or kill other people. It's time to ignore the NRA (which has just become a lobby for gun manufacturers) and pass some reasonable laws to make it more difficult for dangerous people to buy or carry a firearm -- and that includes ALL sex offenders.
