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Wednesday, December 24, 1997

Charges rise against concealed gun permittees

DALLAS (AP) -- Criminal charges filed against Texans with concealed-handgun licenses rose sharply in 1997, according to statistics compiled by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Felony and misdemeanor cases involving permit holders rose from 431 in 1996 to 666 thus far in 1997, a 54.5 percent increase, the Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday.

By comparison, the number of permit holders increased from 114,500 last year to 161,702 through mid-December, a 41.2 percent jump.

Opponents of the "concealed-carry law" say the numbers prove the need for increased restrictions on handgun permits. Supporters of the 2-year-old law say the figures show that fewer than 0.5 percent of permit holders got in trouble with the law in 1997.

"The preponderance of the evidence suggests that the vast majority act responsibly," said state Sen. Jerry Patterson, R-Pasadena, the main architect of the concealed-carry law.

Patterson said no Texas permitholder has been convicted in a homicide since the law took effect Jan. 1, 1996.

Four permit holders have been charged with killing people. DPS statistics don't identify the suspects, and they classify the cases as pending. The files do not reveal whether firearms were involved in the deaths.

"We haven't had a case yet in which a citizen was proven to use his weapon in an unjustified or illegal manner," Patterson said. "Sooner or later, we will have a handgun licensee do something stupid, but it hasn't happened yet."

Travis County Constable Bruce Elfant, who favors tighter restrictions on handguns, said the arrest figures tell him that lawmakers should require psychological screening of permit applicants.

"I am disturbed that several hundred people with these permits have apparently committed crimes," said Elfant, a spokesman for Texans Against Handgun Violence. "Supporters told us these are upstanding, law-abiding citizens."

DPS records reveal a wide range in the 188 felony and 478 misdemeanor offenses alleged against permit holders this year, including kidnapping, sexual assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession and sale of illegal drugs, theft, forgery, drunken driving and impersonating a police officer.

DPS records show no disposition for most of the cases.

Statisticians cautioned against trying to interpret the numbers until all the case outcomes are reported and paint a complete picture of the permit holders' guilt or innocence.

The records show that the state has revoked 377 handgun licenses. Many others are in the process of being revoked or suspended, according to the records.

The statistics, though, don't show cases in which permitholders used or displayed their guns but were not accused of breaking the law.

The DPS said no one keeps statistics on how many handgun permit holders may have shot someone in self-defense. These cases never formally make it into the criminal justice system.

When the Texas Legislature passed its concealed-gun law in 1995, opponents predicted that gun-happy Texans would flock to get licenses, but that has not happened.

Fewer than 1 percent of Texans, 0.87 percent of the state's 19 million residents, hold licenses.

Most police organizations are on the record against concealed-carry laws, but some converts are popping up after two years of experience in Texas.

Glenn White, president of the 2,350-member Dallas Police Association, said he lobbied against the law in 1993 and 1995 because he thought it would lead to wholesale armed conflict.

That hasn't happened, he said.

"All the horror stories I thought would come to pass didn't happen," said Senior Cpl. White.

"No bogeyman. I think it's worked out well, and that says good things about the citizens who have permits. I'm a convert."