Up in arms over guns.

States have been easing their restrictions on concealed weapons for the last couple of years, but that hasn't cooled off the arguments.

A series of death threats against her family changed the way Colorado Senator MaryAnne Tebedo thinks about guns. Addressing legislators at NCSL's Annual Meeting in Milwaukee in July, she explained how guns ceased to represent just the occasional sporting use and became a viable alternative for self-protection. Ultimately, the senator - a wife, mother and grandmother - sponsored legislation to ease restrictions on carrying concealed weapons.

An unprecedented number of states have, in fact, eased their concealed weapons laws over the last two years. More than half the states now issue permits fairly readily to anyone who meets certain requirements such as a background check and fingerprinting. Only eight states prohibit private citizens from carrying concealed weapons; among the remaining states. various restrictions such as requiring a demonstrated need or allowing the issuer discretion over who gets a permit fuel an ongoing debate.

Still in states that do allow it, only 1 percent to 4 percent of the adult population apply for and are granted permits. So why are supporters pushing the issue?

The most recurring theme is the need for self protection in the face of increasing random violence. A second concern is that Americans are on the verge of losing their rights to own and bear arms.

Attitudes toward gun laws have changed over the last decade, says Representative Donna Sytek of New Hampshire. "Ten years ago, I sponsored a bill that prohibited carrying a gun into a courthouse, and it went through without debate." she said. "Ten years later I sponsored a bill that said kids couldn't have guns in school, and it was cause for World War III. There's a lot more passion about gun issues now."

RIGHTS VS. RESTRICTIONS

Police are unable to protect all citizens at all times, so law-abiding citizens should not have to break the law in order to protect themselves say proponents.

Opponents fear a concealed gun will give people a false sense of security and place them in danger of having the weapon taken and used against them. "It's true that the police can't protect you at all times." says Texas Representative Garnet F. Coleman, "but neither can a concealed gun. Nothing can guarantee your absolute safety." Joseph P. Sudbay of Handgun Control Inc. reminded the annual meeting audience that "John Hinckley got off six shots at President Reagan even though he was surrounded by some of the most highly trained professionals in the world."

Representative Coleman blames the media for citizen fear, saying it sensationalizes random violence while ignoring the fact that homicide rates are falling in many cities. But supporters of carrying a concealed weapon argue that they should not be denied the option to carry a gun for protection, regardless of statistics.

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and 43 state constitutions guarantee the right to keep and bear arms. But whether it is intended as an individual or collective right and whether it includes concealed guns remain open to interpretation.

"The Second Amendment, as an individual right, has generally been construed by the courts not to include the concealed carrying of firearms, and many state constitutions specifically restrict it," says David B. Kopel, research director at the Independence Institute, a free-market think tank in Colorado. Because of that, he says, "Gun advocates have come to accept a vast range of restrictions that they wouldn't accept on certain uses such as having a gun in the home."

The federal courts have interpreted the Second Amendment numerous times, and no gun control measure has ever been struck down on those grounds. However, gun control advocates would welcome another challenge, according to Sudbay, "to get the Second Amendment before the Supreme Court one more time."

Those wanting to make well-reasoned decisions about concealed weapons based on hard data will find it difficult. Statistics are scarce and under constant challenge.

Florida's nonrestrictive law in 1987 is considered the harbinger of recent carry laws, and statistics there have been used to support both sides of the debate. Florida's overall crime rate has gone up, but homicides have decreased. The state went from having a homicide rate higher than the national average to one that is lower. In March, however, a memorandum from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said that it was impossible to establish a link between the law and any increase or decrease in crime.

Earlier this year, a University of Maryland report linking relaxed carry laws and increased homicide in five of six U.S. metropolitan areas studied sparked controversy. Kopel said that one objection was that the study relied on data from the National Center for Health Statistics, which does not distinguish between justifiable and unlawful homicides, rather than the FBI Uniform Crime Reports which do. Further, no evidence was offered that permit holders were involved in any of the homicides. Even so, Sudbay points out, there was a 26 percent increase in firearm-related homicides in those five areas without a corresponding increase in homicides by other means, a figure considered significant by a number of law enforcement organizations.

Denise Griffin tracks gun issues for NCSL.

RELATED ARTICLE: CONCEALED WEAPONS IN THE STATES

Only eight states now generally prohibit private citizens from carrying concealed guns - Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin. (Vermont is the only state that does not require a permit to carry a concealed gun.) Bills to ease restrictions or remove discretionary language from the law failed this year in California, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and New Mexico.