Studies: 24 out of 25 Gun Uses for Self Defense, Not Crime

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by AWR Hawkins26 Jul 2012, 12:49 AM PDT8post a comment

Even after the call for police officers to strike until Americans turn in their guns went viral and Mayor Michael Bloomberg had to say he didn't mean it "literally," he continues his gun control rampage. He has now run a full page ad in USA Today in which he demands President Obama and Gov. Romney create and present gun control plans to the American people.

Here's a curious question: does Bloomberg know that guns are used nearly 25 times more often for self defense than they are for crime?

Seriously, the ratio for self-defense uses versus criminal uses is about 25 to 1, yet Bloomberg and his ilk seem determined to spend all their energy taking away the guns of the 25 defenders rather than punishing the one offender to the full extent of the law.

For those of you interested in the raw numbers, the figures of between 2 million and 2.5 million uses of guns for self-defense annually can be found in studies and reports by John Lott, Gun Owners of America, and the National Rifle Association. These are countered by the use of guns for criminal purposes at a rate of 100,000 to 135,000 times a year.

To be clear, I'm not arguing that we ought to be able to own guns because of a ratio, for we keep and bear arms because it's a God-given right which our Founding Fathers said "shall not be infringed." But the ratio of 25 to 1 is icing on the cake, and it reminds us just how myopic gun-grabbers like Bloomberg can get when they set out to promote schemes that disarm the American people.