Idaho Sign Warns Crooks about Gun Owners – Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
A “Welcome to Idaho” sign warns criminals and terrorists about the high number of residents who carry concealed weapons in the state.
The Truth:
A doctored photo of a “Welcome to Idaho” sign started this false eRumor.
The “warning” to criminals and terrorists was edited into this photo of a “Welcome to Idaho” sign that was uploaded to a personal Flickr account in 2008.
The so-called warning reads:
“Over 170,000 Idaho residents have a permit to legally carry a concealed weapon, about 60% of the rest of the population are armed but have not bothered to purchase the license as it is not a requirement to carry a firearm. Understand, a substantial portion of the population is armed and prepared to defend themselves and others against acts of criminal violence. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! However, California, New York and Illinois have disarmed their citizens for your convenience.”
The eRumor’s claims about concealed carry statistics and gun laws in Idaho are also false. There are about 85,000 concealed carry permit holders in the state, not 170,000, the non-profit Crime Prevention Research Center reports.
And Idaho state laws require that residents have a permit to legally carry a concealed weapon, but residents are legally allowed to carry guns without a permit if they are in full view.
This isn’t the first time the “Welcome to Idaho” sign has been doctored, either. A message from “Gov. Nick Waite” was added to the sign in a different version of the eRumor:
“You may not like guns. That is your right. You may not believe in God. That is your choice. But if someone breaks into your home, the first two things you are going to do are call someone with a gun and pray they get there in time. – Gov. Nick Waite”
However, there’s never been a governor named “Nick Waite” in Idaho, so that version of the eRumor also proves false.