The myth of defensive gun use

[billh58]

From the Harvard Injury Control Research Center:

1-3. Guns are not used millions of times each year in self-defense

4. Most purported self-defense gun uses are gun uses in escalating arguments, and are both socially undesirable and illegal

5. Firearms are used far more often to intimidate than in self-defense

6. Guns in the home are used more often to intimidate intimates than to thwart crime

7. Adolescents are far more likely to be threatened with a gun than to use one in self-defense

8. Criminals who are shot are typically the victims of crime

9-10. Few criminals are shot by decent law-abiding citizens

11. Self-defense gun use is rare and not more effective at preventing injury than other protective actions

And finally:

This article helps provide accurate information concerning self-defense gun use. It shows that many of the claims about the benefits of gun ownership are largely myths.

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

Gun humper claims of millions of defensive gun uses per year are nothing more than highly manipulated numbers and lies by the right-wing gun lobby (read NRA/ILA/ALEC/GOA) to produce the statistics they would like everyone believe in order to sell more guns.

[Hoyt]

1. Exactly. They count George Zimmerman stalking, intimidating and killing Trayvon

Martin as a defensive gun use. Some even count touching their gun for reassurance when they get scared passing two Black guys on the street. I've actually had some ignorant gun humper say essentially that when questioned about their BS.

Good post.

[billh58]

2. They actually believe that

"brandishing" a gun at someone who is laughing at, or ridiculing them is a defensive gun use. Same as when they escalate arguments and disagreements into stand-your-ground incidents by pulling out their precious and acting tough.

[Paladin]

4. I like it when they get their assholes in a knot, over what "brandishing" means. (nt)

[billh58]

5. Yep, like many other

"technical" gunner terms that only they can define depending on the slant they need to give any given gun-involved situation. Kind of like our gunner friend below who thinks that an accepted survey method is not valid because it doesn't validate the lies spewed by the right-wing gun lobby he so obviously worships.

[Sailor65x1]

3. "Using data from a national random-digit-dial telephone survey"