Estimating the Number of DGUs

[spin]

64. It is somewhat difficult to have a "productive discussion" on the subject of DGUs ...

as there is little statistical data for reference.

I live in Florida where gun ownership is common and I know of several incidents where a friend or co-worker described using a firearm for self defense. Admittedly such stories are merely anecdotal.

In most of the cases I have heard of the incident would qualify under your standards for a DGU.

...A defensive gun use means that someone uses a gun to prevent a crime – or, okay, an animal attack. It does not mean a pissing contest that one person settles with a firearm. If a guy breaks into your house and you greet him with a shotgun, that definitely qualifies as a DGU. If you get into an altercation with a guy over a parking space and he becomes disproportionately aggressive to the point of threatening violence and you pull out a gun, chances are that qualifies as well. If you’re arguing with a guy, or even having a fistfight, with more or less equal ferocity and you whip out your Luger just to get the upper hand, that probably does not qualify.

Two of the incidents that I have heard of would not fit your definition. One involved a peeping Tom and the other a prowler. Another involved a police officer who shot an attacking dog and I don't believe you are counting actions by the police.

Two incidents involved members of my family but one occurred in the 1920s and the other in the 90s.

Two involved a mugging by an individual armed with a knife and one with a road raged person with a tire iron. All of these ended when the attacker realized his victim was armed with a handgun. No shots were fired.

Considering that I know a lot of people who own firearms and many who legally carry, these anecdotal tales do not prove that firearms are used frequently for self defense especially when you consider the time frame in which they occurred.

However we both admit that legitimate DGUs do occur. I feel that the figure of 2.5 million times a year is exaggerated but your estimate of 1000 is far too low. Since we are playing a guessing game I estimate the number in the range of 30 to 65 thousand times a year. Most probably involve the use of a firearm for hone defense against a criminal foolish enough to enter an occupied home.

I feel it would be extremely difficult to obtain accurate statistics on DGUs. Any survey would probably be biased by the viewpoint of those who conducted it. Of course the results would be questioned by the other side of the debate and be ignored or discredited. Little would be accomplished.

It might be more valuable to conduct a survey to determine if civilian firearm ownership deters crime. This would involve interviews with individuals with a criminal record. I believe that a few such surveys have been made have shown some deterrent effect. For example a criminal may be less likely to enter an occupied home in Florida than he would in a city such as Chicago where firearm ownership is tightly regulated.