I saw these statistics in the December 2011 Edition of Guns & Ammo, page 14, citing the NRA as the source:
- 2010 Civilian-Owned Total Firearms: 300 million
- 2010 Handguns Owned: 100 million
The magazine also quoted some statistics from 1994 about Male Felons: (Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their Firearms 1994)
- 34% scared off, shot at, wounded, or captured by an armed victim
- 40% decided not to commit a crime because they knew or suspected the victim was carrying a gun
- 69% knew other criminals who had been scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim
Hmmm. Well, as a professional person, I am always a bit suspicious of statistics. But the FBI reports that a number of categories of violent crimes show that crime rates are down, BATFE told me that applications for regulated firearms have skyrocketed in the last year or two.
Maybe there is something to being an armed citizen after all. Just sayin’.
