By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A recent investigation by the Second Amendment Foundation provides a strong argument that law-abiding armed citizens are not a criminal threat, declaring, “and the data proves it.”
Data gathered by California-based attorney Kostas Moros, SAF director of Legal Research and Education, shows among other things that people who hold concealed carry permits/licenses “rarely commit crimes.”
According to data collected by Moros and included on a two-page Fact Sheet”
- Florida has issued 6,661,440 carry licenses since 1987. “Only 24,251 (have been) revoked for any reason and not reinstated, through Sept. 30, 2026.” This constitutes 0.36 percent of all the licenses issued.
- In Minnesota, in 2025, “at most 342 convictions of permit holders were in violent-crime categories (assault, domestic assault, protection-order violations, sex offenses, homicides including negligent and vehicular, robbery) among 381,405 valid permits.”
- In Michigan, 2,071 license holders were convicted of a crime (any felony or misdemeanor, including traffic misdemeanors) in FY 2024-25, out of about 850,000 active licenses (850,376 as if Oct. 1, 2026)
- In Virginia, in 2024, there were 815 revocations “for any disqualification (reasons not reported) against 686,994 resident permits issued, the newest year published.”
The Fact Sheet, one of seven posted on the SAF website under “Just the Facts,” briefly mentions three tragic incidents in which armed private citizens intervened and fatally shot would-be mass shooters, including one which occurred on a live stream church service.
When a gunman opened fire at the Greenwood Park mall food court in Indiana on July 17, 2022, a young man named Elisjsha Dicken drew his legally-carried Glock pistol and—from a distance starting at about 40 years—opened fire and hit the killer eight out of ten times. The entire incident unfolded in about 15 seconds, according to Moros’ account.
On Dec. 29 2019, a gunman opened fire during a service at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas, killing two people. However, volunteer security team chief Jack Wilson drew his sidearm and fired a single shot across the church sanctuary, hitting the gunman in the head and stopping the attack. Wilson was awarded the Governor’s Medal of Courage.
More recently, at the Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, armed citizen—and father of two students—Kaylub Giamanco, saw the teenage gunman enter the school with a 12-gauge shotgun. Giamanco grabbed his .40-caliber pistol, which was in his vehicle, and followed the suspect into the school. An unarmed teacher first tussled with the shooter, before Giamanco shot him once, and then twice more, killing him, all before police arrived.
The Fact Sheet notes that armed private citizens are often the first line of defense.
“Laws that ban them from everyday ‘sensitive places’ disarm the people least likely to cause harm, inadvertently helping violent criminals,” the Fact Sheet says.
Elsewhere, the Moros Fact Sheet observes, “Criminals do not apply for permits, and they ignore ‘no guns’ rules. Turning ordinary places into gun-free zones does not disarm attackers; instead such laws disarm the law-abiding people most likely to stop them.”
Quite possibly one of the best examples of this occurred in July at Seattle’s food festival event called the “Bite of Seattle.” On the final day of the event, alleged gang members—all of them apparently teens not legally able to carry concealed handguns—opened fire. Three people, including one of the shooters, were killed, one 15-year-old was arrested and jailed, while one or two unidentified suspects got away and have yet to be apprehended.
