Actual Armed Citizens

[flacaltenn]

BlueStreak:

I guarantee, if you shoot someone for whatever reason there will be a trial.

Naw.. Not really.. Law enforcement OFTEN decides not to prosecute in straight cases of self-defense. They'll investigate, but charges need not and are not often filed.. In fact, many citizens get an "atta boy" from the city..

NoOneReal:

So you say say some folks got struck by lightening, some folks around here it happened to too.

I know those are anectodal stories, I've got a thousand more if you enjoyed them. Pete could kick in a couple thousand I bet from his "reading material". But the crux of the matter are the DOJ numbers that I posted. Did you see them???

The 86,000 defenses with a gun are only the police reported ones. Easily more than twice that per year according to sources. MANY more incidents didn't even result in a shot fired. So the score really is:

Guns Used in defense of self and property: 172,000/year
Struck and Killed by Lightning in the US: ~65/year (source below)
Struck by Lightning in the US: 172/year (my guess from deaths)

So officially NoOneReal -- Protecting yourself, your family, and others with a gun happens roughly a 1000 times more often..


http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/jeh5_05_45-50.pdf