Criminals and gangs will always be able to get the guns they use to attack innocent Americans, whether legal or illegal. Banning guns will …show more content…
Wayne Allen Root cites a study done by the Bill Clinton Justice Department. The study gives many statistics about the usage of guns for self defense. “The [Bill] Clinton Justice Department identified 1.5 million cases per year of citizens using guns to defend themselves” (Root). It also goes on to say, “Each year about 200,000 women use a gun to defend themselves from a sexual crime or abuse” (Root). The first statistic includes 500,000 home invasions prevented with guns. These statistics show the other side of the story many people do not usually hear. All the big news stations run stories about shootings and gun violence because it gets them good publicity, but what is not talked about is how many crimes are prevented by civilians with guns. Another good indication that guns are very important for self defense is how the criminals themselves feel about civilians with guns. In a survey of male felons from 11 state prisons across the USA, “57% of felons agreed that ‘criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police” (Allowing Armed Citizens Reduces Gun Violence). This demonstrates the power an armed potential victim of a crime can have to prevent the criminal from carrying out the crime. If a law abiding US citizen has a gun they are much more likely to be safe from crime than if guns are made illegal and they are left unarmed and