[AdAstra2009]

I'm in a social issues class and I'm researching for when we get on the gun control topic.

Would it be correct to say that there are 75 times more Defensive Gun Uses than Gun deaths?

I am gathering this information by taking 20,000 gun deaths a year from 2005 allegededly collected from the CDC
WikiAnswers - How many people were killed by guns in America last year

(It would be good if I could get the official CDC site and not a wiki)

and the 1.5 million Defensive Gun Uses a year from a study by the US Justice Department.

so I took 1,500,000 and divided it by 20,000 and I got 75 so would it be accurate to say there are 75 times more defensive gun uses a year than gun deaths or is there some kind of flaw that I am overlooking.

[gorknoids]

There are significantly more Offensive gun crimes than there are Defensive gun uses. Crime works that way.
I guess what we need to know is.... how are you attempting to portray gun owners, because what you have is a math problem. You have an end which you are trying to justify, right?

[AdAstra2009]

Darn I thought I had the perfect statistic to use as an edge.

I'm trying to work it in favor of guns, I'm pro-gun.

[robocop10mm]

The 1.5 million number sounds like one promoted by the NRA. That includes situations that a gun was displayed but not fired. I am not sure how they accrued that data, but it sounds pretty reasonable to me.

So, yes. I believe that would be an accurate stat.

The CDC compiles data on "reported" gun deaths. They also include suicides, accidents, homicides, justified self defense killings and LE shootings that result in a death. They portray the number in such a fashion that leads many to associate 20,000 deaths with 20,000 MURDERS. That could not be further from the truth. I seriously doubt there are 20,000 murders in the US over any 3-4 year period.

[skullcrusher]

Huge flaw: gun deaths vs. defensive usages

Subjects are not defined. You need to find gun deaths involved in offensive crime vs. gun deaths as result of defensive measures.

While you are at it, check out gun deaths in offensive crime vs. non-gun assaults.

[AdAstra2009]

Originally Posted by robocop10mm

The 1.5 million number sounds like one promoted by the NRA. That includes situations that a gun was displayed but not fired. I am not sure how they accrued that data, but it sounds pretty reasonable to me.

So, yes. I believe that would be an accurate stat.

The CDC compiles data on "reported" gun deaths. They also include suicides, accidents, homicides, justified self defense killings and LE shootings that result in a death. They portray the number in such a fashion that leads many to associate 20,000 deaths with 20,000 MURDERS. That could not be further from the truth. I seriously doubt there are 20,000 murders in the US over any 3-4 year period.

The 1.5 million was actually the one of the lower numbers I could find for Defensive Gun Uses per year, it's also by the US Justice Department so it's more official.
I also came across DGU #'s of 2.5 million and 2 million from a study by Gary Kleck from the Florida State University in 1993.
I don't see a problem with a DGU being just a weapon displayed, I mean I think that would work better(maybe look) in that no-one was hurt.

To Skullcrusher I may check out those suggestions though I don't know how easy it will be to find statistics that specific.

My primary goal is to find out if guns save more people or kill more people. (hopefully save more)

[gorknoids]

Right. You can only incorporate the use of a firearm after you have identified the players' motives.

[bkt]

Others have pretty much covered it.

Compare uses of legally-owned firearms: defensive (and that doesn't necessarily require a shot being fired) versus offensive (domestic dispute, suicide, etc.). I think you'll find the percentage of offensive uses of legally-owned firearms is far, far smaller than 25%!

Then compare uses of illegally-owned firearms. There are probably no stats on defensive use of illegally-owned firearms, but there's no shortage of data on offensive uses.

Finally, compare the stats: legal/offensive v. illegal/offensive.

[Benning Boy]

I don't think there's a way to work in the deterrent factor, i.e., a criminal sees an NRA sign in a yard, and avoids burglarizing that house.

Often, the presence of a firearm is a deterrent, and perhaps a crime that would have been committed is scrubbed and moved along for easier pickings.

[AdAstra2009]

Thanks for the response.
My teacher for social issues says we are going over gun violence and we are going to be shown a video on children gun deaths.

So far I have my original statistic and I'm also going to use the following.

* more children are killed every year by Adult sized beds(or was it being crushed between the mattress and the headboard)
* maybe something to do with automobiles
* children statistic includes 15-20 year old gang-bangers

And maybe that one that says doctors cause 9,000 times more deaths then gun violence in the US but I may hold off because they may think I'm crazy or something.

Anyone have any other good arguments I can use. Also is the 2% of crime committed using "Assault Weapons" accurate because I heard FOX use 6%