Some Frequently Overlooked Facts in Gun Policy Discussions 1 .
Guns save lives.
People who want to restrict gun ownership often ignore the fact that innocent civilians use guns 2.2 to 2.5 million times a year to defend themselves from criminals intent on burglary, assault, robbery, and murder. For every anecdote in which an improperly used gun hurts someone there are five in which having a gun at hand saves someone from injury or death. As Table 1 shows, the number of people killed by firearms is small in comparison to the lives protected. People who own firearms are exceedingly careful with them. Police kill as many as 330 innocent people a year.