The moral responsibility of able men and women

My thinking on concealed carry underwent a dramatic transformation a few weeks ago when I read an article suggesting that I not only had a right to carry a concealed weapon, but a responsibility to do so in the absence of disqualifying factors. The thinking is that law-abiding citizens who are not taking whatever steps they can in the course of their daily lives to combat crime are part of the problem: they are contributing to the victim culture, a major part of which is the notion that society must be highly-regulated by a distant authority in order for people to be safe.

I'm not an extremist on this subject. For instance, I know several people with young children who simply are not comfortable with the idea of having a gun in the house: while I think this fear is misplaced especially since I know these people are responsible and would keep their (hypothetical) guns out of reach of their children, in many cases I don't believe these people are making excuses simply because they have an irrational fear of guns, although certainly some are. In any event, I'm willing to give most of them the benefit of the doubt because I can never know exactly what someone is thinking.

Furthermore, the decision to carry a concealed weapon requires the proper state of mind, a knowledge of the acceptable use of threats and lethal force, and a level of commitment to marksmanship in the unlikely event that a person should actually be called upon to fire the gun at anything. Sadly, not everyone has the time to make this kind of commitment, and certainly some people would not be able to treat the carrying of a concealed weapon with the proper amount of gravitas.

Nonetheless, when I look at the way I live my life and the relatively minor impediments I have to carrying, it is clear that I have no disqualifying factors: I take the time to practice; I am exceedingly careful about storage, transport, and concealment; and there is nothing in my personal life that I feel would conflict significantly with my ability to carry. At this point, the moral responsibility to contribute to the "polite society" becomes paramount: a higher rate of concealed carry has been consistently linked to a lower rate of crime, so simply by virtue of carrying a concealed weapon, I am helping to fight crime, even if I never draw it.

Of course, I'd rather carry in the open, but I don't think society (especially in Massachusetts!) is ready for that.