Good news from the U.S. about guns: they save lives

While the U.S. national news media cover every school shooting, when was the last time you head about a citizen saving a life with a gun? Since, according to national surveys, guns are used defensively about two million times a year – five times more often than they are used to commit crimes – there are plenty of examples, says researcher John R. Lott Jr.

In 98 percent of all cases, simply brandishing a gun is sufficient to stop a crime. Here are some of the 20 defensive gun use stories Lott found reported locally in a single week in March:

By firing one rifle shot, a 19-year old Little Rock, Arkansas man defended himself against three armed men threatening to assault him.

A man in Detroit, Michigan with a concealed carry handgun permit fired shots that forced a mentally disturbed man who was firing at people in passing cars to run away.

A West Palm Beach, Florida man who had been beaten during a home robbery just two days earlier began carrying a handgun in his pocket and was able to shoot and wound another robber who attacked him.

A Grand Junction, Colorado man who was feeding three hitchhikers in his home grabbed a gun – fortunately with no trigger lock – after they began stabbing him with kitchen knives, shooting one of the attackers.

And in Salt Lake City, Utah, two robbers began shooting as soon as they entered a pawnshop, but were met with return fire from the owner and his son, who wounded one.

Source: John R. Lott Jr. (Yale University Law School), Tell About When Guns Save Lives, Dallas Morning News, April 10, 2001.

For text http://www.dallasnews.com/editorial/viewpoints/

For Guns & Self Defense http://www.ncpa.org/pi/crime/crime51.html