As any sentient person could have suspected, facts show that there are very few  actual incidents where a good guy with a gun stopped a bad guy with a gun. Their entire raison d’etre is a myth. Not that that’ll get even one gun advocate to change their mind, but whatever.  I’m sure their answer is that if 300,000,000 guns is not enough.  Maybe if we had 600,000,000 guns in America there would only be justified homicides.  Now wouldn’t that be fun?

In 2012, across the nation there were only 259 justifiable homicides involving a private citizen using a firearm reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program as detailed in its Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR). That same year, there were 8,342 criminal gun homicides tallied in the SHR. In 2012, for every justifiable homicide in the United States involving a gun, guns were used in 32 criminal homicides.  And this ratio, of course, does not take into account the tens of thousands of lives ended in gun suicides or unintentional shootings that year…

For the five-year period 2008 through 2012, there were only 1,108 justifiable homicides involving a gun.

Out of about 30,000 gun deaths a year in this country, including suicides, between 250 and 300 a year are good guy taking out a bad guy.  Pro-gun advocates claim that there are 2.5 million times a year where people defend themselves with a gun. Every responsible researcher believes that number comes from the bureau of the NRA’s ass.

Interestingly…

In 2012, 35.5 percent (92 of 259) of persons killed in a firearm justifiable homicide were known to the shooter,6 51.4 percent (133) were strangers, and in 13.1 percent (34) the relationship was unknown. For the five-year period 2008 through 2012, 32.9 percent (364 of 1,108) of persons killed in a firearm justifiable homicide were known to the shooter, 56.0 percent (620) were strangers, and in 11.2 percent (124) the relationship was unknown.

So 50% of the time even those justifiable homicides are somebody you know. Not some stranger that threatens you and your family. Not a crazed maniac, murderous terrorist or thuggish gang banger, but rather your drunk belligerent buddy, with a gun, who thinks you fucked his wife and so you have to shoot him.

Which just adds insult to injury if you did fuck his wife.