Guns in America: For every criminal killed in self-defense, 34 innocent people die

[applegrove]

Guns in America: For every criminal killed in self-defense, 34 innocent people die

By Christopher Ingraham at the Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/06/19/guns-in-america-for-every-criminal-killed-in-self-defense-34-innocent-people-die/?tid=sm_fb

"SNIP..............


In 2012, there were 8,855 criminal gun homicides in the FBI's homicide database, but only 258 gun killings by private citizens that were deemed justifiable, which the FBI defines as "the killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen."

That works out to one justifiable gun death for every 34 unjustifiable gun deaths.

Or, look at it this way. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that in 2012 there were 20,666 suicides by gun. That works out to one self-defense killing for every 78 gun suicides. CDC data show that there were more than twice as many accidental gun fatalities as as justifiable killings.



..............SNIP"

[flamin lib]

1. When are we gonna figure this out? nt

[Human101948]

2. Gun lovers prefer the CDC report claiming it is more accurate...

“Almost all national survey estimates indicate that defensive gun uses by victims are at least as common as offensive uses by criminals, with estimates of annual uses ranging from about 500,000 to more than 3 million per year … in the context of about 300,000 violent crimes involving firearms in 2008,” says the report.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2013/06/handguns_suicides_mass_shootings_deaths_and_self_defense_findings_from_a.html


Of course it only has a margin of error of plus or minus 2,500,000 but don't let that worry your mind.

[jimmy the one]

3. zimmerman, justifiable homicider

.. 2012, there were 8,855 criminal gun homicides in the FBI's homicide database, but only 258 gun killings by private citizens that were deemed justifiable, which the FBI defines as "the killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen."

Of those 258 justifiable gun kills by private citz, I'll bet maybe around 20% are of dubious 'justifiability'.
I think George Zimmerman's might be one of those 258 'justifiable' killings in 2012:

wiki: ..Feb 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin..... , July 13, 2013, a jury acquitted him of second-degree murder. On 24 February 2015, the Justice Department announced that "there was not enough evidence for a federal hate crime prosecution

Ergo, if acquitted, I presume the killing of trayvon martin was considered 'justifiable'? is that the way it works?

Critics say the {Stand your ground} laws, in combination with lax gun laws, has increased “justifiable homicides” in recent years.. since the bill was introduced in 2005 the number of “justifiable homicides” in Florida has almost tripled. It has risen from an average of 12 a year prior to the legislation to 33 as an annual average.
they do contend this as well: The gaps in the data suggest that the actual rate of justifiable homicides could be significantly higher

As to the VPC study, the nra of course blasts it:

(NRA) called the study into question. "This 'so-called' study, which was paid for and promoted by gun control advocates is rubbish," NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said. "VPC fails to note that only a fraction of defensive firearm homicides are reported to the FBI and the study doesn't account for the many crimes deterred by a firearm that do not result in a homicide. Recent polling shows that most Americans believe exercising their constitutional right to self-protection makes them safer and this is just another transparent attempt to push gun control.”

NRA is wrong on several counts, but clever since 'only a fraction' could be 95%. It's likely imo a small fraction of justifiable homicides are indeed not reported by the states (which would not contradict the remark above about justifiables perhaps being 'significantly higher' -- statistically speaking, 15% is significant).
Of course gun killers are going to argue they were justified, happens with regularity, common self defense plea, or ruse. In many cases if the killer can't be shown to have done it illegally, he backs into it being 'justifiable'.
The VPC study validly included reported homicides, whether justifiable or not; it was not a study to estimate unreported killings.

To argue as the nra does, that the study doesn't account for the many crimes deterred by a firearm is a big fat duh, since the study wasn't meant to study that, and in a proper dgu (defensive gun use) study, there is no comparison to unreported illicit use of guns, & crimes with guns which resulted in nothing or little of consequence. So the nra doesn't mind if gunworld ignores specifics, but harps as if it were so terribly wrong when it's limited to relevancy by gun control groups.
Brandishing firearms goes unreported daily, likely 90% of illegal brandishing misdemeanors go unreported.