Study
Finds Guns Do Not Increase Personal Safety
By Rowan Lee
Harvard revealed data that shows “defensive gun use” not only rarely protects a person from harm, but gun involvement also increases personal danger – decreasing personal safety.
Though
concealed carry crusaders and NRA flag-waivers would have you believe otherwise
– a new study from The Journal of Preventative Medicine finds
no advantages to using a firearm for self defense.
Led by David Hemenway, Ph.D., of the
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, this study utilizes data from the
National Crime Victimization Survey. It is an annual survey of 90,000
households which has revealed data that shows “defensive gun use” not only
rarely protects a person from harm, but also increases the personal danger.
The study found that in incidents
where a victim used a gun in self-defense, the likelihood of suffering an
injury was 10.9 percent.
Had the victim taken no action at all, the risk of
injury was virtually identical: 11 percent.
Having a gun also didn’t reduce the likelihood of losing property: 38.5 percent of those who used a gun in self-defense had property taken from them, compared to 34.9 percent of victims who used another type of weapon, such as a knife or baseball bat.
What’s more, the study found that while the likelihood of injury afterbrandishing a firearm was reduced to 4.1 percent, the injury rate after those defensive gun uses was similar to using any other weapon (5.3 percent), and was still greater than if the person had run away or hid (2.4 percent) or called the police (2.2 percent). These results were similar to previous research on older NCVS data which showed that, while using a firearm in self-defense did lower a person’s risk of subsequent injury, it was less effective than using any weapon other than a gun. – The Trace
Further data showed that when
someone uses a gun in self defense it is commonly part of escalating
hostilities where both parties are likely responsible for the event that
prompts the hostile outcome.
Some example responses of this type of defensive
gun use include: “I was watching a movie and he interrupted me. I yelled at him
that I was going to shoot him and he ran to his car,” or “I was on my porch and
this man threw a beer in my face so I got my gun.”
The data also revealed that
defensive gun use is far less common than believed by the public, with “DGUs”
showing up in less than one percent of attempted or completed crimes.
Opponents
claim that the numbers do not represent a large enough percentage of DGUs, or
that many DGUs go unreported. However, the study does represent
one of the most grounded arguments that the firearm does not increase safety
when a victim is subjected to a crime. The safest possible responses in
threatening situations continue to be hiding or fleeing.
Interestingly, Liberals Unite reported (including 2 ABC
News videos) about a controlled study back
in 2010 that found “concealed carry permit holders are fooling themselves if
they think they will be able to react effectively to armed aggressors.
Most CCW
holders won’t even be able to un-holster their gun. They will more likely be
killed themselves or kill innocent bystanders than stop the aggressor.”
Author
Rowan
Lee sez: Hey! Before you go… Follow @therowanlee on twitter for more
rantings, ravings, and musings. You’ll be glad you did, I promise.