Are concealed weapons the answer to American safety?

U.S. Concealed Carry Association President Tim Schmidt said Thursday the reason behind the uptick in concealed weapons permits in the United States is due to more Americans “feeling the need to be able to protect themselves, to be able to be that first line of defense.”

“There’s so many great opportunities to learn about being that responsible American, that people are taking up that cause and becoming concealed carry permit holders – which is a good thing for our country,” Schmidt told Charles Payne on the FOX Business Network.

However, reciprocity laws might cause a hurdle for concealed weapons permits in the future.

“So if you travel, say from Wisconsin to Iowa, over to Nebraska, every single state has different laws so you never know exactly are you going to be legal in that state – which is why there is an important bill right now that needs to get passed, which would force states to acknowledge other people’s concealed weapons permits,” said Schmidt.

Schmidt is referring to H.B. 38 and S.B. 446 – currently in the House and Senate, respectively – which comprise the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act and would allow people with permits to carry their concealed weapons anywhere in the country.

Schmidt agrees “100%” with the idea that if more people were armed, tragedies like the one in Manchester on Monday could be prevented.

“A famous saying is the best way to stop an armed bad guy is with an armed good person, and that’s been shown time and time again. A lot of people don’t see that because it doesn’t get a lot of coverage when the good guys show up with guns and stop the crimes.”