VPC-Firearm Justifiable Homicides and Non-Fatal Self-Defense Gun Use

[sarisataka]

http://www.vpc.org/studies/justifiable15.pdf
Normally I would not use a VPC report to pick up after my dogs, but since excerpts have been receiving attention I decided to read the report. Specifically the statement that "Guns are rarely used to kill criminals or stop crimes" reasoning that only 259 justifiable homicides vs. 8432 criminal homicides with firearms in 2012.

Yet the title also says "Non-Fatal Self-Defense Gun Use"; I wondered what the report had to say about that...

COMPARING NCVS DATA TO CLAIMS THAT GUNS ARE USED IN SELF-DEFENSE 2.5 MILLION TIMES A YEAR
Using the NCVS numbers, for the five-year period 2007 through 2011, the total number of self protective behaviors involving a firearm by victims of attempted or completed violent crimes or property crimes totaled only 338,700. In comparison, the gun lobby claims that during the same five-year period guns were used 12.5 million times in self defense (applying to the five-year period the gun lobby’s oft repeated claim, noted earlier, that firearms are used in self defense 2.5 million times a year). {p.7}

Unsurprisingly they found a number far lower than the 2.5 million high end claim. But the total dismissed as "only", 338,700, equates to 67,740 DGUs per year.

It should also be noted that the NCVS number is viewed as an absolute minimum and in the report Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearms-Related Violence said of the NCVS "difficult to interpret because respondents were not asked specifically about defensive gun use" {p. 15}

Comparing this to

TABLE TWO: CIRCUMSTANCES FOR HOMICIDES BY FIREARM, 2008-2012 {p. 10}
Criminal Homicide 42,419
Justifiable Homicide 1,108

or an average of 8,484 criminal homicides per year.

Two conclusions are quickly drawn from comparing VPC numbers.
1. The murderous vigilante meme is fantasy. The number of justifiable homicides is very low in any given year and roughly .327% of DGUs result in fatalities.
2. Guns are often used defensively; 7.98 times more often than used to commit criminal homicide.

Perhaps the statement should be "Guns are rarely used to kill criminals but stop crimes 8 times more often than they are used to murder".

[beevul]

1. KICK. N/T

[beardown]

2. Most excellent analysis.

Great data judo as your used their own data.

"7.98 times more often than used to commit criminal homicide. " is a telling ratio. This favors lawful gun owners as a net good, ergo, concentrate on removing guns from criminals and promoting safer gun storage and handling.

This is a very nice statistical presentation of the paradox that gun haters present when they claim every gun owner is a murderous thug itching to kill someone and yet highlight every time a gun owner does not shoot someone given a legal defensive situation and the overall lack of numbers of gun killed perps by civilians.

I'm assuming that suicides by gun are not included as a homicide and will obviously be added to any statistical analysis by anti-gunners. As tragic as suicides are and the lethal effect guns add to the issue, they should not be part of defensive gun use per criminal gun use equation.

[sarisataka]

5. Telling how the

VPC's own numbers go against their claims.

It also shows the disingenuous claim of "rarely occurs" gets supported by trying to stack bodies. Civilians are hesitant to kill; criminals not so much.

[Kang Colby]

3. K&R...fantastic analysis. Eom.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

6. Bookmarked