TIL that Guns are rarely used in self-defense. Of the 29,618,300 violent crimes committed between 2007 and 2011, 0.79% of victims (235,700) protected themselves with a threat of use or use of a firearm

Read more: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/firearms-research/gun-threats-and-self-defense-gun-use-2/

What do you think?

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11 Comments

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  1. If the threat of use deters a crime from happening, then why would it be reported? I get what you’re trying to say with this but it kind of seems like a difficult stat to accurately determine.

  2. One of the sources for this is actually hilarious on it’s own. The majority of defensive gun uses they showed to legal experts were, even being as generous as possible to the gun user, probably illegal. Many of the defensive gun uses didn’t actually involve the gun at all, it’s just a person attributing things happening to the magical power of having a gun in their pocket unknown to everyone but them.

    One guy reported 50 defensive gun uses in a five year period, but refused to say what they were. Another was an 18 year old who claimed six uses, the most recent one an almost-certainly-illegal-but-benefit-of-the-doubt mutual gun battle at a school.

    By their own admission, their sample size was probably too small to make any broad judgements, but it’s a funny read.

    Direct link to the PDF so you don’t have to Google –

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1730664/pdf/v006p00263.pdf

  3. According to WebMD “For each 10% jump in home ownership of guns, the risk of someone in the household being killed rises 13%.” Having guns in your home or on you makes you less safe and more likely to die by gunfire.

  7. /u/MaxwellFinium

    To the guy who replied to my post with the right wing source then blocked me? lol

    He can’t even click the link to the post he’s replying too.

    Literally first line from **harvard** “Guns are not used millions of times each year in self-defense”

  11. Stats are a funny thing. Why would it need to be a “violent” crime, for instance? Friend of mine pointed his gun at someone who had broken into his house. The man fled. That was not violent, and no one was shot, but his gun was used for defense.

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