Recently, with all the increased media fever following the Newtown school shooting, the issue of concealed carry has been beaten back and forth like a really bad tennis match. More like a match between Venus Williams and Stephen Hawking. The left, thinking every concealed carry longs to get involved in a shootout, asks “What good is one lone good guy with a gun against a bad guy?”

Sadly, they are missing the point. The true power of concealed carry is that it puts doubt in the minds of potential criminals. If there is the possibility that the criminal will face opposition, they will go elsewhere.

You see, most of the lunatics who carry out these mass shootings are not only mentally ill, they are cowards. We know this because when they are confronted by real opposition they either kill themselves or surrender immediately. It’s also been shown that they pick their targets based on the knowledge that they will be unopposed.

But, if there is a chance there will be armed opposition, they choose to go elsewhere.

How do we know? Consider this case from my home town, Kennesaw, Georgia. Famously, every head of household in Kennesaw is required by city ordinance to possess a gun, and, as a result, the burglary and violent crime rates here are among the lowest in the nation. There are no mall shootings, no theater shootings. Why? Because the odds are pretty good that someone – many someones – will be present who are carrying concealed guns. And the bad guys just don’t like the odds, and they take their business

But specifically, there was an incident at a local Waffle House in 2010 where two patrons were open carrying, late at night. As it turns out, some thugs were looking to rob the restaurant, and sent in a scout first, who saw the two men sitting with guns.

Then,

Meanwhile, conscientious Cobb County Police Officer D. Lowe had noticed suspicious cars sitting behind the restaurant in the dark and decided to investigate.  He caught men with masks and rifles who had been preparing to rob the Waffle House.  The criminals informed the police that they had changed their mind upon discovering armed customer and were waiting for Matt and J.P. to leave.  Ironically, the police car was pulling in to the parking lot just as Matt and J.P. were driving away.  In other words, had Matt and J.P. not been armed, the robbery probably would have occurred before the police intervened.

And, if this is what’s visible and known, then what’s invisible, concealed, and not known? In that case, the bad guys, the coward nut jobs, don’t want to know. They go somewhere else.

And that is the real power of concealed carry.