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1
Here’s some interesting data points:
http://bit.ly/11XsYS3 (pdf)

“There have been 13 major surveys regarding the frequency of defensive gun use (DGU) in the modern United States. The surveys range from a low of 760,000 annually to a high of three million.”

“the researchers estimated that in the previous 12 months, there were approximately 1,896,842 incidents in which a householder retrieved a firearm but did not see an intruder. There were an estimated 503,481 incidents in which the armed householder did see the burglar, and 497,646 incidents in which the burglar was scared away by the firearm.”

“Only 13% of U.S. residential burglaries are attempted against occupied homes. | A 1982 British survey found 59% of attempted burglaries involved an occupied home. | In the Netherlands, 48% of residential burglaries involved an occupied home. | In Toronto, where handguns are legal but rare, 44% of home burglaries take place when the victim is home. | Suppose that the percentage of “hot” (occupied residence) burglaries rose from current American levels (13%) to a level similar to other nations (around 45%). Knowing how often a hot burglary turns into an assault, we can predict that an increase in hot burglaries to the levels of other nations would result in 545,713 more assaults every year. This by itself would raise the American violent crime rate 9.4%. | Given that the average cost of an assault, in 2006 dollars, is $12,032 the annual cost savings from reduced assault amounts to more than six billion dollars ($6,566,018,816).”

This one is just for Sarah Mirk: “In October 1966, the Orlando Police Department began conducting highly-publicized firearms safety training for women, after observing that many women were arming themselves in response to a dramatic increase in sexual assaults in the area. Orlando rapes fell by 88% from 1966 to 1967. Burglary fell by 25%. Not one of the 2,500 trained women actually ended up firing her weapon; the deterrent effect of the publicity sufficed. … No other U.S. city with a population over 100,000 experienced so large a percentage decrease in the number of rapes from 1966 to 1967.... That same year, rape increased by 5% in Florida and by 7% nationally.”

Be sure to click “dislike” if you think George W. Bush should eat an adorable kitten.
2
Cut-and-paste comments should be banned.

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