To trust or trust not

Imagine this. Driver’s licenses issued by each state as usual, but before a Massachusetts citizen is permitted to drive in Rhode Island, she must apply for a non-resident license, take additional training, provide personal references, and pay exorbitant fees. And in spite of all this, she will almost certainly be denied the permit. Because Massachusetts drivers are simply not to be trusted on the streets of Rhode Island. So she must circumnavigate Rhode Island, perhaps via Connecticut, assuming, however, that she can secure a Connecticut non-resident license. A quandary.

Indeed a quandary, for a Rhode Island driver likewise could not drive in Massachusetts nor Connecticut or New York or New Jersey without applying for and being granted separate non-resident permits. (And remember that non-resident permits are rarely approved). A road trip to Florida would require at least ten different non-resident state permits, each acquired at great expense and great difficulty, each with different experience and training requirements. Such a road trip would be nearly impossible.

This is the reality faced by persons wishing to exercise their right of self defense.

While licensing of automobile drivers and concealed carry permit holders is decidedly different, both have one major element in common: trust.

Do we trust our neighbor to drive safely, prudently, observing relevant laws and regulations? Beyond immediate neighbors, do we trust our fellow citizens from other states to operate their vehicles carefully? Witnessed by the ease and prevalence of obtaining a driving license and the reciprocity observed among the states, the answer is a resounding yes.

And for the most part, that trust is warranted. But we each see, every day, that road-racer wannabe using the rest of us as pylons as he swerves through traffic at high speed on I-95. Or the scofflaw (usually from another state) who cuts you off or blows a stop sign or red light. Every day there are reports of drunk drivers arrested for their third or fifth offense, often after having caused some heartbreaking carnage.

But we look to the common good derived from the wide availability of driving licenses and the interstate recognition thereof. We hold our noses in spite of traffic accident statistics telling us the chilling truth that getting into an automobile is by far the most dangerous thing that most of us ever do.

Trust.

But when it comes to carrying the means to self defense, that trust is much more guarded. And oddly, it tends to be political. Those in the middle and right of the political spectrum tend to trust their fellow citizens. Those to the left do not.

Concealed carry permit holders are statistically the most law abiding among us. They have willingly submitted to finger printing, background checks, training regimes, and paid substantial fees. Yet a Rhode Island permit is not recognized in Massachusetts and vice versa. Connecticut permits are not accepted by any northeastern state save Vermont (which in its wisdom requires no permits of non-criminals). Pennsylvania is likewise not recognized by New Jersey. In the liberal northeast, we claim to love our fellow (hu)man but don’t trust her if she lives across the state line.

Which is exactly what befell Shaneen Allen.

Shaneen, an African American mother of two, medical professional, and resident of Philadelphia, had recently obtained a concealed carry permit. She had been robbed twice and wanted to be able to protect herself and her family. After completing the required training and paying the required fees, she was granted her permit by the state of Pennsylvania.

Shortly after, Shaneen crossed the bridge into nearby New Jersey to attend a surprise birthday party for her son. A police officer pulled her over for a minor lane violation. Shaneen immediately informed the officer that she was a concealed carry permit holder and had a small handgun in her purse (this notification being an essential part of her Pennsylvania training). But there is something about the northeast that makes a state line a trust barrier. New Jersey arrested Shaneen and she spent 46 days in jail before being bailed out. She still faces trial as a felon and, if found guilty, will serve from three to eleven years in prison, not able to raise her young children.

In our northeastern, liberal zeal to make us all perfectly safe, we seem to have gotten it wrong. Gun crime is a terrible thing, but it is committed by sociopaths, not by the Shaneens of the world. Perhaps it’s time to trust our fellow honest citizens a bit more and redouble our pursuit and prosecution of actual criminals. There are plenty of them to keep us busy.