A new report from the Crime Prevention Research Center revealed that the number of Americans with concealed carry permits increased for the third year in a row. The new figure of 18.86 million concealed handgun permits represents a 304 percent increase since 2007. Additionally, it’s an 8 percent increase in the number of permits from the figures that the CPRC discovered last year in 2018. 
Nationwide, 7.3 percent of American adults have concealed carry permits. Ten percent of adults in 13 states have permits, with Alabama having the highest concealed carry rate at 26.3 percent, Indiana coming in second at 17.9 percent, and South Dakota rounding off in third place at 16.02 percent. In terms of total concealed carry permit holders, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas have the highest number of people carrying concealed. Florida became the first state to cross the 2 million permit mark in 2018.
Americans recognize the value of the right to carry unlike the political class and the media priesthood. Most Americans can’t afford the luxury of private security services and instead rely on police who are often minutes away when seconds count in active shooter situations. Concealed carry offers a more reliable and cost-effective form of self-defense.
What we’re witnessing now in the form of increased concealed carry is the product of decades of policy work to reform gun laws in a way that empowers law-abiding citizens. The federal government has for decades been derelict in upholding the gun rights of American citizens, so activists have turned to their state legislatures for reform. Certain states are even embracing constitutional carry — the concept that a law-abiding individual can carry a firearm without a permit.
This year, states like South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Kentucky became Constitutional Carry states, putting the number of states with this law in place at 17. Ideally, the entire U.S. would be a constitutional carry zone. Nevertheless, it’s good news that Americans are taking proactive steps to protect themselves and their loved ones by obtaining concealed carry licenses. The key is that people continue pressing their state legislatures to enact these reforms and ultimately restore their right to self-defense.
An armed America is a safe America.
