Reply #93: Like you I am a strong supporter of gun rights and hate the NRA, however

[Spirit of 34]

You're painting in some pretty broad strokes here that are not necessarily accurate...

And as a matter of fact, states with concealed carry permits have statistically fewer gun deaths than those without.

I find this claim dubious. I'm guessing if you compared, say, Florida to Massachusetts that statement wouldn't hold up. Most of the "shall issue" states are in the South, which have higher violent crime rates (though there is no evidence this is related to gun carry laws). If we're talking about states where there is NO right to concealed carry AT ALL for private citizens, Illinois is the only one I'm aware of in that category (along with D.C.)-- but several of the "may issue" states, like Mass., have very, very restrictive (and often discriminatory, in practice at least) laws for concealed carry.

Probably because they require ID, a criminal background check, a letter of good character from your local police station, several references, and sometimes a psychological examination.

That varies widely from state-to-state. "May issue" states require approval from local police authorities, most "shall issue" states do not. Full info can be found here: packing.org

For the record, I support "shall issue" or Vermont-style carry laws (VT does not require any special permit for CC)