Do We Really Know the Facts Regarding Guns?

For John, BLUF:  Yes, defensive gun use is a thing, and a big thing.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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CDC, in Surveys It Never Bothered Making Public, Provides More Evidence that Plenty of Americans Innocently Defend Themselves with Guns

Here is the sub-headline:

CDC surveys in the 1990s, never publicly reported, indicate nearly 2.5 million defensive uses of guns a year.  That matches the results of Gary Kleck's controversial surveys, and it indicates more defensive than offensive uses of guns.

From Reason Magazine, by Mr Brian Doherty, 20 April 2018.

Here is the lede plus one:

Many people who support gun control are angry that the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are not legally allowed to use money from Congress to do research whose purpose is "to advocate or promote gun control."  (This is not the same as doing no research into gun violence, though it seems to discourage many potential recipients of CDC money.)

But in the 1990s, the CDC itself did look into one of the more controversial questions in gun social science:  How often do innocent Americans use guns in self-defense, and how does that compare to the harms guns can cause in the hands of violent criminals?

It is free.  Read the whole article.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff