The Second Amendment limits the government’s power over the people’s right to keep and bear arms for the defense of our nation. However, Americans uniquely have the right to defend our lives with the most effective tools available.
A widely disputed topic between gun advocates and anti-Second Amendment advocates is the number of defensive gun uses (DGUs) each year. Fortunately, we have data to better understand the effect armed civilians have on criminality.
The following section covers everything we know about defensive gun use in the U.S.
Report Highlights:
- Reports consistently show that there are between 60,000 and 2,500,000 defensive gun uses per year.
- There are an average of 1,820,000 defensive gun uses per year compared to 1,100,000 reported crimes.
- Only 2.07 million civilians regularly carry a firearm for defense.
- Civilians are 85% more likely to use a firearm for defense than to be murdered by one.
- The average distance in a defensive gun use shooting is three yards.
We at Ammo.com strive to provide reliable data from reputable sources. You can view all sources used in this article HERE.
How Often Are Guns Used in Self-Defense?
The number of defensive gun uses (DGUs) is hotly contested and widely debated because the definitions and data collection methods vary. However, studies consistently show between 60,000 and 2,500,000 DGU uses per year. The average yearly reported number of self-defense cases between 1990 and 2023 is 1,820,000 annually. 7
Defensive gun uses are often debated because the information comes from survey data, and many wonder how 2.3 million DGUs are even possible annually.
Some DGU surveys are more broad, asking questions like “Have you ever retrieved a firearm because you perceived a threat?” Others ask more specific questions, such as, “Have you ever retrieved a firearm because you saw an active threat or home intruder?”
Assuming that even the highest DGU estimates are accurate (4.3M uses per a CNN survey), that would only be 2% of all American gun owners thwarting a threat with a gun.
States’ Self-Defense Laws, Permitless Carry, and DGUs
Indiana passed Stand Your Ground laws in 2006 and permitless carry legislation in 2022. In January of 2024, 14 of 18 homicide investigations involved self-defense. From a domestic violence incident to a home break-in, over three-fourths of all deaths in Indianapolis that month involved some type of self-defense claim. 1
Despite a 2022 study 2 stating that Stand Your Ground legislation leads to more homicides, a five-year average of homicides by state does not support this hypothesis. In fact, national homicide rates increased between 2020 and 2022. Furthermore, states with permitless carry legislation and SYG legislation have the same homicide rate average as those who don’t. 3
Unfortunately, the CDC Wonder does not differentiate between self-defense shootings and homicides. However, the evidence is clear: States with strong self-defense laws do not have higher homicide rates than those restricting the right of civilians to defend themselves.
States’ Violent Crime Rates and No Duty to Retreat (Stand Your Ground Laws)
A 2021 study shows that states embracing civilians’ rights to self-defense had little to no impact on violent crime rates. 4 However, 75% of states that passed SYG (Stand Your Ground) laws with no duty to retreat experienced a decline in violent crime victimizations in the following years. 2
Continue reading Defensive Gun Use Statistics: America’s Life-Saving Gun Incidents (2024) on Ammo.com