Self-defense gun use estimates have frequently been offered with little examination of the actual event. Using self-defense stories from 3 national random digit dial telephone surveys conducted for the Harvard Injury Control Research Center in 1994, 1996 and 1999, we find that a large number of self-reported defensive gun uses do not appear to be socially desirable.
Respondents to all three surveys were asked whether or not they had used a gun to defend themselves against a person in the five years preceding the survey. Of over 5,000 eligible respondents to the three surveys, 64 reported a self-defense gun use.
Overall, the majority of self-reported defenders were males who reported defending themselves away from home. The majority of self-defense gun uses were not reported to the police and the most common scenario involved defense against someone unarmed. In only three instances did a respondent defend his or her family from intruders.
Verbatim descriptions of events from the latter two surveys were reviewed by 5 criminal judges. Even assuming the gun ownership and carrying were legal and the descriptions of the events completely accurate, these judges found that almost 40% of the self-defense gun uses were unlikely to be legal. In a similar analysis of the 1996 survey, 3 criminology graduate students ranked the large majority of the self-defense gun uses as socially undesirable.
Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, particpants should be able to 1.Assess the social desirablitiy of self-reported self-defense gun uses based on verbatim accounts of self defense gun uses by survey respondents 2. Discuss the limitations of annual self-defense gun use estimates based on self-report surveys
Keywords: Firearms,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.