A quick look at state legislative sessions across the country shows it’s clearly that time of year again for gun control advocates. Like the critters in a game of Whack-A-Mole, proposals to further restrict the right to keep and bear arms are popping up for consideration in state after state, needing to be (metaphorically) bopped back down by defenders of the Second Amendment.
As I recently explained to Minnesota state legislators, gun control advocates’ preferred policies do little more than scapegoat peaceable and lawful gun owners while completely missing the point — most violent crimes are committed by a small subset of repeat offenders who are already prohibited from owning any guns, at all. Those criminals aren’t likely to comply with new laws making it doubly illegal for them to possess a certain type of firearm. Even then, it wouldn’t matter because criminals could just as easily use “featureless” versions of the same guns (which, again, they still can’t lawfully possess) to carry out their crimes.
At the same time, gun control advocates often downplay (or even outright ignore) the fact that law-abiding Americans routinely rely on their right to keep and bear arms to defend themselves and others from actual violent criminals who ignore gun control restrictions. A 2013 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged that almost every study on the issue has found that between 500,000 and several million defensive gun uses occur every year in the United States. An extensive 2021 national survey conducted by a Georgetown professor further substantiated this reality, concluding that Americans used their firearms defensively an average of 1.2 million times a year.
Most of these defensive gun uses don’t even require the victim to fire the gun to successfully deter violence. Only a small percentage make it into a police report, much less generate national headlines. Consider the following “newsworthy” defensive gun uses from last month that most people probably missed:
Feb. 3, Roswell, N.M.: During an argument, a man began beating his ex-girlfriend and aggressively threatened the couple’s adult son when he tried to intervene. The son subsequently drew a handgun and shot his dad to protect himself and his mom. Local officials announced that they won’t seek criminal charges against the son because his use of deadly force was justified.
Feb. 6, Athens, Texas: After arguing with his stepfather earlier in the day, a man returned later to his stepfather’s home with a gun and shot him. The stepfather’s dad, who was also present and armed with his own gun, fatally shot the assailant. Local authorities reported that they expect the stepfather to recover from his injuries.
Feb. 8, Jackson, Miss.: Two masked teens broke into a woman’s apartment in the middle of the night, only to come face to face with the armed resident, who fired multiple shots at them with her handgun, killing one of them and sending the other fleeing. Police quickly apprehended the second suspect, who was charged with felony murder over his compatriot’s death.
Feb. 10, Houston, Texas: Police say that two would-be robbers followed a man home from a gun range, “swarmed” him when he got out of his car, and tried to forcibly take one of his gun bags. Fortunately, the victim was armed with two guns on his person and engaged the robbers in a shootout, shooting and injuring one suspect and sending the other fleeing.
Feb. 14, Spartanburg, S.C.: A woman’s ex-boyfriend came to her home late at night and grew irate that she had a male friend over. The woman and her friend drove away from the home to avoid further confrontation, but the ex-boyfriend pursued them in his own car, eventually ramming the victims’ car and causing it to “spin out” just inside the parking lot of an elementary school. When the ex-boyfriend tried to forcibly drag the woman out of the car, her friend intervened by drawing a firearm and shooting the assailant. Police later charged the ex-boyfriend with two counts of attempted murder, kidnapping, and first-degree assault and battery.
Feb. 22, Las Vegas, Nev.: A former employee of a fast-food restaurant returned to the business and confronted a current employee, whom he began chasing with a gun. A different employee witnessed the confrontation, grabbed his own gun from his vehicle, and fatally shot the armed former employee in defense of his co-worker.
Feb. 22, Tuscaloosa, Ala.: A woman shot and critically wounded her boyfriend, who had a history of domestic violence, after an argument escalated into a serious and threatening encounter. The woman allegedly left the house during an argument and tried to hide from her boyfriend in an inoperable vehicle while she called 911. The boyfriend followed her and was trying to break the car windows before the woman shot him.
Feb. 23, Wilson County, N.C.: Local officials say that a 20-year-old man who shot another driver with an AR-style rifle during a road rage incident acted in self-defense and won’t face criminal charges. With help from the armed victim’s smart glasses, which recorded the incident, police determined that the other driver engaged in a series of aggressive and reckless driving behaviors against the younger driver, eventually running the victim’s car off the road. The other driver then exited his car, approached the victim’s disabled vehicle while yelling racial slurs and expletives, and opened the victim’s door before the victim shot and critically injured him.
Feb. 27, Springfield, Ohio: A woman’s ex-boyfriend forced his way into her home and assaulted her and her current boyfriend before threatening them with a gun. The woman’s current boyfriend drew his own firearm and exchanged gunshots with the ex-boyfriend, fatally striking him while avoiding injury himself.
Feb. 28, Des Moines, Iowa: A homeowner went to investigate after she heard a person yelling and banging on her back door late at night. When she unlocked the door, a woman she did not know forced her way inside and began to attack her. The homeowner was armed and shot her assailant multiple times in self-defense before calling 911. The wounded intruder faces a second-degree burglary charge.
Gun control advocates often treat lawful gun owners—like the ones who relied on their right to armed self-defense in these stories—as an inherently dangerous class from which the rest of society must be protected. It’s a completely irrational response.
The answer to criminal violence isn’t to impose gun control restrictions that limit the options available to lawful gun owners or make it more difficult for them to protect themselves and others.
If anything, the answer is to repeal the laws that get in their way.