The FBI recently released a report this past April citing the necessity of Second Amendment rights and the rights of citizens to defend themselves. Their findings showed that almost half of the incidents that involved active shooters were ended by an armed citizen exercising their Second Amendment right. Without these citizens protecting others, these incidents could have escalated to include more severe injuries and even additional deaths.
The Report
The report included information on the 50 active shooter incidents that occurred in the United States between the years of 2016 and 2017. 2016 saw 20 such incidents and 2017 saw a total of 30.
The active shooter incidents included in the report defined an active shooting as an incident as one in which one or more assailants engaged in acts to kill or attempt to kill people in a targeted public area.
The report explained the use for this definition by stating, “the active aspect of the definition inherently implies that both law enforcement personnel and citizens have the potential to affect the outcome of the event based on their responses to the situation.”
Citizen Engagement
Of the 50 total incidents, ten involved the shooter being confronted by non-police citizens. In those incidents, four of them included an armed citizen who stopped the shooting thus ending the incident and prevented more loss of life.
Other incidents involved citizens being able to restrain the shooter until police arrived and one incident involved a citizen stopping a shooter through the use of their vehicle.
These situations show a willingness for citizens to exercise their right to protect themselves as well as innocent people around them to prevent tragedies from becoming even more devastating.
The report reiterates this position by stating, “armed and unarmed citizens engaged the shooter in 10 incidents. They safely and successfully ended the shootings in eight of those incidents. Their selfless actions likely saved many lives. The enhanced threat posed by active shooters and the swiftness with which active shooter incidents unfold support the importance of preparation by law enforcement officers and citizens alike.”
The Reports Conclusion
As evidenced by the report, the FBI data showed that many of the incidents involving active shooters in the United States were brought to an end by law enforcement personnel and armed citizens exercising their right to carry and right to protect themselves and others. Their reaction to the situation helped save lives and mitigated the amount of carnage that these incidents could have resulted in had the shooter not been stopped.
What Does this Mean for the Future of Second Amendment Rights?
It is shown in the FBI report that guns are a reasonable and appropriate means of self-defense that citizens can utilize to protect and defend themselves and innocent victims who cannot. All too often we measure the value of guns in terms of criminal use and criminal deaths when the true value of guns should be measured by the number of lives saved and the number of injuries prevented.
In the recent media attention that many active shooter incidents have received the focus has been on how the criminals obtain the guns or the type of gun and not information about the citizens who risk their lives to stop them and prevent injury to the untold number of others.
Gun control legislation in some states and other countries has shown that eliminating a law-abiding citizen’s right to bear arms has not stopped criminals from obtaining the weapons that they need to commit crimes they are set on perpetrating. It is important to remember that a person set on committing a crime will have no problem committing another crime, such as obtaining an illegal firearm to accomplish their goal.
If gun control activists are allowed to push their agenda and prevent citizen’s from being able to carry weapons, we will be removing the right of average citizen’s to protect themselves and aid in the thwarting of active shooter incidents.
This will create an unarmed public population which has been shown to be the primary target for these shooters who are looking to be able to create the most carnage without the risk of being interfered with. These criminals specifically target such sites as schools, churches, and concerts where they know that the victims will be unarmed and unable to defend themselves properly.
~ American Gun News
How do we get Congress to approve constitutional carry and full inter-state reciprocity? Can this FBI report assist law-abiding American citizens in this endeavor?
I think that promise of American reciprocity must be honored. Quality law abiding citizens right to carry is like having a back up Army for Law Enforcement and will save precious lives including lives of law enforcement . It’s free extra protection and is an absolute must. As a private citizen it is my duty to help law enforcement in times of need. I hate to see a man on duty lose his life , when we could be on his team and help out free of charge. Lets all fight crime and save lives as a team and get rid of the garbage together.
As a former NRA instructor it is heartening to hear this report.
Everyone knows this but the warped minds of the liberals can’t understand why they should be the only ones with bodyguards or guns.
Key: ‘the true value of guns (2A) should be measured by the number of lives saved and the number of injuries prevented’. Having permits to carry extends within limits the law enforcement reach and protect.
Could it be that the FBI is, finally, taking an objective look at the subject? They have a long way to go to reclaim their reputation.
Who would have guessed that they would realize that armed citizens are an effective means of protection for the public?
Maybe a little less PC.
This is why I carry my firearm.
its about time they pulled theie heads out of their asses.
glad that someone set up this web site ; it is sorely needed.
Please provide a link to the FBI report.
IT IS finally become apparent that the NEED for an ARMED Citizenry is NECESSARY to prevent the repeat of a situation comparable to the establishment of a REGIME LIKE that of the takeover of GERMANY before WORLD WAR TWO by those who wish to make the rest of US Slaves and STEAL OUR [ GOD GIVEN RIGHT’S ] FROM US without any form of RESISTANCE OF a kind provided by an ARMED CITIZENRY, RIGHT???
Your report says “…findings showed that almost half of the incidents that involved active shooters were ended by an armed citizen…” but your report also says there were 50 incidents studied, and “Of the 50 total incidents, … four of them included an armed citizen who stopped the shooting.” Four does not seem almost half of 50 to me.
Of the 50, in 10 incidents the shooter was confronted by a non police citizen. Of the incidents where shooter was confronted by ordinary citizen, nearly half (40%, 4/10) were by an armed citizen. The claim applies to situations where police had not yet arrived, or had not yet confronted the active killer. When seconds count, police must obey laws of time and space, and are minutes away.
Though not stated outright, it appears that 100% of the four incidents with armed civilian confronting the active killer resulted in ending the threat and no further loss of life. However only 4/6 of the confrontations with unarmed civilians resulted well. Also from the numbers, 20% of the situations (10/50) saw civilians willing and able to confront the killer before police were willing or able. It stands to reason that the more armed, trained, and willing civilians we have in any location, the safer we will be overall from active killer threats.
This article means absolutely nothing and will change nothing. It is just one more piece of credible evidence supporting our Second Amendment rights that the Left will outright ignore or belie! Gun control advocates will simply respond by calling us names like second graders just as they already do because they have nothing of substance to say. They are filled with malaise over the mere thought that someone standing near them in a public place might have a gun on their person regardless of whether or not that person is a law abiding citizen or a thug! As much as we can hope that this evidence provided by the preeminent law enforcement agency* in the US will change someone’s mind that armed citizens are best for our nation, this simply will not be the case. The Left will stick their fingers in their ears with a la-la-la-la-la and then flip us off once more. There are ONLY two things that can change an anti-gun zealot into a Second Amendment advocate. 1) They have children and realize they are responsible for protecting them as Dana Loesch did and, 2) a violent armed act against oneself, a family member, or a friend as Paxton Quigley did when her friend was violently raped.
* Yes, I know that image is tarnished thanks to Clinton, Obama, Holder, and Lynch. But, the FBI will be cleaned out and the damage mitigated soon.
Newly Released Gov’t Study Shows Overwhelming Number of Shootings Are Defensive
By Jack Davis
April 22, 2018 at 2:23pm
Share on Facebook Tweet Email Print
When the Centers for Disease Control researched gun violence two decades ago, it found that firearms are used to protect citizens more than 2 million times per year, according to an expert criminologist.
Gary Kleck of the Florida State University of Criminology and Criminal Justice recently reported on a CDC study conducted between 1996 and 1998, the results of which were never publicly released.
“CDC’s findings indicated that an average of 2.46 million U.S. adults used a gun for self-defense in each of the years from 1996 through 1998,” Kleck wrote in a summary of his research into what the CDC uncovered, but did not share with the American people.
“CDC never reported the results of those surveys, does not report on their website any estimates of DGU frequency, and does not even acknowledge that they ever asked about the topic in any of their surveys,” Kleck wrote in his paper, according to Reason.
Given the fact that gun ownership is often under reported, the actual number may be higher, Kleck said.
He noted that the CDC itself found “guns were used defensively by victims about 3.6 times as often as they were used offensively by criminals.”
Kleck theorized that politics kept the results quiet.
“(W)hy did CDC personnel decide not to report them?” Kleck wrote.
Does carrying a gun make you less likely to be a crime victim?
Yes No
Continue with Facebook
— or —
Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
“One obvious explanation would be that they recognized that their own surveys’ finding of a high (defensive gun use) prevalence was unfriendly to gun control efforts — efforts repeatedly endorsed by CDC-financed researchers.”
According to the criminologist, the facts should have been laid before the people.
“Regardless of how the decision was made, it was a disservice to the American people, who paid for the survey and the information it yielded, but who were not allowed to see it and judge its worth for themselves,” he wrote.
Kleck’s numbers are bigger than those coming from people who try to minimize the prevalence of defensive gun use.
In a 2015 article for Politico, Kleck said those who downplay defensive gun use “hope that total gun prohibition will one day be politically achievable, and they recognize that high numbers of DGUs each year would present an enormous obstacle to persuading Americans that disarming noncriminals would be without serious costs.”
RELATED: School Under Fire After Anti-Gun Walkout Leaves One Dead
Although the CDC did not disseminate the findings of its late 1990s work, it did share the results of a 2013 study that concluded potential crime victims can avoid injury by being armed, according to CNS News.
“Studies that directly assessed the effect of actual defensive uses of guns (i.e., incidents in which a gun was ‘used’ by the crime victim in the sense of attacking or threatening an offender) have found consistently lower injury rates among gun-using crime victims compared with victims who used other self-protective strategies,” the CDC study said.
That report also said that “defensive gun uses by victims are at least as common as offensive uses by criminals, with estimates of annual uses ranging from about 500,000 to more than 3 million per year.”
It is encouraging to see this report. I’m sure the media will not disclose this. It needs to be made public so that everyone can see it.
The fact that firearms deter five times the crime and assaults we experience as it is. All “gunners” know this fact through experience. I have personally save the live of four people with my guns, never shot a one of the perps, but succeeded in driving them off.
This report is not going to make a difference with the Left, as they aren’t concerned with saving lives. I’m talking mostly about the political Left. They know being armed will save lives. They are only concerned with disarming the political dissedents or those that disagree with them that they should be in total control of your everyday life.
It’s not about gun control, it’s about control!
Its about time SOMEONE realized that honest armed citizens can assist in deterring these senseless acts of terror and criminal intent! Once the “bad guys” find out that “Joe Citizen” is “carryin'” our crime rates will drop. And I don’t believe in court costs and jail time for terrorists. Credo from the 70’s: KTALGSTO.
Well said Denny ! So many people expressing our police need to take a step back and not be so forceful with people , well that is bullshit , police have one of the most stressful and dangerous jobs there are. Some people want to be a smartass and run their mouth to men just doing their job. Well then they might deserve a swift kick in the ass. When you go into Wal-Mart or the convenience store down the road do you smart off to them , mostly no . So why police , because you are a criminal most likely. I have been pulled several times in my 53 years and have never run across anyone of these police types portrayed by the media. Be polite , you don’t even have to be polite , just don’t be rude and all will be fine.I salute the men and women of law enforcement and of course our military personnel, thank you for all you do.
The leftist want to take the average citizens guns, they don’t want to carry a gun but they don’t mind hiring someone to have a gun when he is a personnel bodyguard, when the guns are taken from reliable and legal people it will leave our people with no defense against criminals because criminals manage to arm themselves regardless of the ban against gun carrying or ownership