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Many studies have been made - including at least one by Janet Reno's Justice Dept in the Clinton administration - that show anywhere from 1.5 million to 3 million incidents ever year, where a law-abiding citizen with a gun deterred a crime. In most, the gun was never fired - it was merely show to the bad guy, or pointed at the bad guy etc., causing the bad guy to either run away or surrender. In incidents where the gun was fired, it was usually a warning shot into the air. This shows that by far the greatest usage of guns by law-abiding citizens, is to deter crimes,... not to kill. In the small percentage of incidents when the perp was actually hit by a gunshot from his victim, he was usually injured but not killed. In a VERY small number of these incidents, the perp killed by the victim using a gun.
Hard to tell how many innocent victims "would have been" robbed, raped, injured, or killed, since in these incidents it never happened. It is certainly important, and I'd guess the number would be quite significant if we could find it.
But another important point:
These innocent victims found themselves in a position where they could exert some control over a bad situation, and were able to make it better, because they had a personal firearm available to them. IOW, they were able to protect themselves. IOW, they retained the RIGHT to control their own destiny.
This is the right the gun-haters are trying so desperately to take away. They pretend we are better off if we ban guns, thus depriving the law-abiding of their use but NOT depriving the lawbreakers. The right to have some control over your own fate.
mcmaster - you guys can join us here in Texas anytime. I like your style.
We have the Castle Doctorine which allows us to protect our property without the worry of lawsuits or charges. If criminals don't want to be shot they should stay away from your property.
I travel a lot for work, which affords me the opportunity to read a plethora of different newspapers. I read about it all the time....people all across this great land are defending themselves and others from criminals. It would be interesting to see a compilation of statistics regarding such. Better yet, it would be good for the anti-gun establishment to see just how families and individuals are protecting themselves simply because they were prepared. Anti-gun liberals would have you believe that being "prepared" is synonymous with being "paranoid". I'd wager that that sentiment would change if they ever found themselves in an unfortunate situation of "if only I.......".
You've got to think that most of the times the threat of violence in one's defense goes unreported. No need to file a report on scaring the s out of someone. I'd like to think just one encounter like that might change the mind of a criminal, but that's probably naive. Also, the threat of violence is often more effective than the actual use of violence.
A cut and paste job from the first source that I saw quote the FBI. I cannot attest to its accuracy.
According to the FBI data, there were 1,412 justified homicides in the United States from 1987 through 1991 (the most recent figures available). In the last 10 years, the FBI says justifiable homicides have jumped 33 percent. Anne Seymour, a spokeswoman for the National Victim Center, said the killings reflect people’s growing fear of violent crime and their inability to stop it.
Kep in mind that this does not account for the times where someone is not killed. That number is much., much higher.
All we hear are the news about the evil gun being used by citizens to create crime. How many times do you hear of when a gun is used and it stops crime without being discharged or fired only in defense of life?
usually 4,000,000+ a year.
but the cops that hate the law abiding citizens and the liberal politicians and media do not want the general public to know this tidbit of information.
One man was killed and another seriously wounded in a shootout inside a Miami Burger King on Tuesday, officials said.
Police said a man wearing a ski mask walked into the store at Biscayne Boulevard and 54th Street and demanded money from a clerk.
A customer, who has a concealed weapons permit, pulled a gun, said Officer Jeff Giordano, a Miami police spokesman.
The customer and robber exchanged fire.
The robber was shot dead at the scene.
The customer, who had several gunshot wounds, was taken to Ryder Trauma Center in serious but stable condition, said Lt. Ignatius Carroll, a Miami Fire Rescue spokesman.
At about 4 p.m., officials got several 911 calls reporting people shot inside the Burger King.
Robber fatally shot in Miami Burger King holdup - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com (http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/966133.html - broken link)
mcmaster - you guys can join us here in Texas anytime. I like your style.
We have the Castle Doctorine which allows us to protect our property without the worry of lawsuits or charges. If criminals don't want to be shot they should stay away from your property.
Absolutely. And I put an NRA sticker on our front window to give them fair warning that the house is packin'.
"News -Bad gun- How many times has a gun stopped a crime reported? "
Not sure how effective the police have been in preventing crimes but I'll bet the armed citizen has been more effective.
Armed police 'presence' is the main crime deterent that provides a perception of safety. So it follows that society supports the use of firearms to prevent crime. Police usually show up after the crime to bring the perp to justice.
Fire extinguishers are promoted and are often legally required to prevent fires even though every town has a fire department. This is where the discussion turns to individual responsibility whether it be a LEO or armed citizen.
Excellent column by Colby Cosh on how an armed man protected his property.
Colby Cosh: No thief, no cops, no lawyers, no problem - Full Comment (http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/04/03/colby-cosh-no-thief-no-cops-no-lawyers-no-problem.aspx - broken link)
Perhaps only in Alberta do people still understand that the police’s privilege of investigating and punishing crime is derived from our primary right of self-defence, which we delegate but do not abandon, and that property is an extension of ourselves, and may be defended in the same way and for the same reasons we are allowed to defend our persons.
I will defend my haystack to the death. I refuse to buy insurance (other than from Smith&Wesson) for any of my personal property.
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fire prevention
