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Support for Kleck and millions of defensive uses
From 1997, tho I just saw it. Using a 5,200 person telephone surgery, authors conclude that annually about 1.9 million people draw a gun during a home intrusion, but don't actually see the intruder, another 503,000 draw a gun and do see the intruder and (not surprisingly) 497,000 report the intruder fled in response to the gun. These don't include defensive uses other than in response to home invasion, and on the other hand surely include some where no intruder was sighted because there was no intruder, but certain support Kleck's conclusions that defensive gun uses number in the millions per year.
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One thing these surveys fail to account for is the huge difference in "hot" burglaries between the US and countries with strict gun control. Perhaps guns provide a herd effect, with criminals preferring not encountering an armed homeowner.
Another factor to consider regarding defensive use of firearms is that there is not only no benefit to the defender to report these incidents, but a significant downside, i.e., risk, given the anti-gun and politically correct sentiment that seems to have permeated all branches of local government. You WILL be investigated if you make a report, records will be created, and in many cases the officer taking the report will consider the angle that you acted irresponsibly or even illegally during the encounter. They will want to see your license and the firearm, they may want to take it in for investigation and they will be probing and studying to see if you violated the letter or spirit of any governing law or ordinance. You could have your license revoked, or denied for renewal. Anyone with any legal savvy will report NOTHING as a result of a successful deterrence with a firearm, and would of course not report this in a survey.
You can make that 397,001. they never called me.