We’re not going to rehash everything that Gun Owners of America published in their very comprehensive analysis of gun usage. Suffice it to say, they did their homework and deserve the credit. We wanted to bring this up for our concealed carry community as a means of discussing a definitive fact: guns save lives.
The ‘Guns Save Lives’ Facts At A Glance
Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz published a study back in 1995 in which they analyzed the usage of guns and found that gun use accounted more for defensive gun use than it did for criminal activity. “Armed Resistance to Crime: The Prevalence and Nature of Self-Defense With a Gun” was published on page 86 of The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.
There was a follow-on study in 1997 where they discovered that self-defense gun use accounted for more than 80% of all gun use in America.
More supporting information can be found in the sources section of the original Gun Owners of America post.
Many of the studies they reference are more than twenty years ago — back when concealed carry was much less prevalent in society than it is today.
This should give us an idea that concealed carry is actually a major deterrent to criminal activity. If you’re still skeptical, though, they polled criminals serving time behind bars to get their opinion. The results are interesting…
Criminals Are More Wary Of Gun Owners
In a poll of felons serving time behind bars, the U.S. Department of Justice found out some interesting numbers from inmates back in 1985.
“A criminal is not going to mess around with a victim he knows is armed with a gun.”
- ~60% of felons polled agreed.
“One reason burglars avoid houses when people are at home is that they fear being shot during the crime.”
- 74% of felons polled agreed.
“Criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police.”
- 57% of felons polled agreed
Now, keep in mind, this data is almost thirty years old. For over thirty years, the United States Department of Justice has understood that gun ownership rates may correlate with reduced violent crime — not an increase.
So, we’re largely seeing what naturally makes sense: victim selection is done based upon who a criminal believes is least likely to put up resistance.
When the criminal strongly suspects that a person may have a concealed firearm on his or her person, that criminal is going to be more cautious with how he advances on his prey.
Carrying a concealed firearm isn’t just a status symbol or a political statement. It’s a statistically proven method of reducing your likelihood of being the next victim of a violent crime.
That’s why we always advocate to carry every single day, everywhere you’re legally aloud. Let’s not be victims for another statistic.
If you’re curious about reading more on the studies that have linked gun ownership and concealed carry to reduced crime rates, both Think About Now and Gun Owners of America have published comprehensive findings.