Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Legal & Legislation

Florida Alert! Heritage Foundation Introducing a Defensive Gun Use Database

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

DATE:       April 21, 2020
 TO:     USF & NRA Members and Friends
 FROM:     Marion P. Hammer
   USF Executive Director
   NRA Past President

 

Anti-gun forces are always quick to report the use of firearms in violent crimes - but they never talk about the number of times law-abiding people use a firearm successfully in lawful self-defense.   Published in the 1990s, "Point Blank" by  Dr. Gary Kleck, a criminologist and researcher from Florida State University, destroyed the arguments of  gun control proponents.

His research revealed that crime among people who carry guns for self-defense is almost nonexistent. 

His study found that a firearm is used to protect it's owner, from crime, approximately 2.5 million times a year.  Additionally, those findings show that for every time a gun is used in the commission of crime, a gun is used 3-4 more times in self-defense. 

The Heritage Foundation is now introducing a database of defensive gun use.  

 

Loading a New Database of Defensive Gun Use

By Amy Swearer 

Daily Signal

April 20, 2020 

https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/04/20/loading-a-new-database-of-defensive-gun-use/

 

Amy Swearer is a senior legal policy analyst at the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. 

For well over a year, The Daily Signal has published a monthly series highlighting lawful gun owners who used their firearms to protect their liberties, lives, or livelihoods. 

Although these articles recount just a dozen or so stories each month, the incidents are selected from hundreds of other, similar examples. 

Those defensive gun usesare worth highlighting, too. That’s why The Heritage Foundation is introducing its Defensive Gun Use Database, an interactive map featuring all of the news accounts from police reports that we couldn’t fit into installments of the monthly series. 

What’s the Defensive Gun Use Database? 

The database features an interactive map that allows users to locate instances of defensive gun use in their own states and cities. 

Clicking on a specific dot on the map provides the user with an instant breakdown of important information about the incident of defensive gun use that the dot represents. 

For example, users can see the date and location of the defensive gun use, what type of firearm was involved, and the context in which the gun was used—including to defend against a home invasion, armed robbery, or domestic violence). 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost all major studies on defensive gun use have found that Americans use their firearms defensively between 500,000 and 3 million times each year. Researchers have good reason to believe, however, that most defensive gun uses aren’t reported to law enforcement, much less picked up by local or national media outlets…  https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/04/20/loading-a-new-database-of-defensive-gun-use/ 

 

Read More Articles on this subject...

https://www.heritage.org/search?contains=Defensive+Gun+Use+Database

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRENDING NOW
Virginia Gun Owners Face Magazine Confiscation!

Monday, February 2, 2026

Virginia Gun Owners Face Magazine Confiscation!

Astute Virginia gun owners anticipated terrible gun control legislation from the 2026 General Assembly. Still, some may be shocked to learn that anti-rights zealots in the Virginia Senate have advanced a bill to CONFISCATE standard capacity firearm ...

Unnecessary Roughness: NFL Player Hit with Felony Arrest for Lawfully Owned Gun

News  

Monday, February 2, 2026

Unnecessary Roughness: NFL Player Hit with Felony Arrest for Lawfully Owned Gun

One bill has stood above the rest for decades as NRA-ILA’s top federal priority, and the New York City Metro area has once again shown why.

Hawaii Introduces “Anti-Wolford” Bill

News  

Monday, February 2, 2026

Hawaii Introduces “Anti-Wolford” Bill

The United States Supreme Court has barely finished hearing oral arguments in Wolford v. Lopez, the Hawaii “vampire rule” litigation, and already Aloha State lawmakers have been panicked into an attempt at a preemptive legislative workaround.  ...

Virginia: Multiple Gun Control Bills Advance in Senate

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Virginia: Multiple Gun Control Bills Advance in Senate

On Monday, January 26th, the Senate Courts of Justice Committee advanced a slate of gun control bills targeting semi-automatic firearms, standard capacity magazines, carry rights, home storage, and more.

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging Supreme Court to Strike Down Firearm Prohibition for Marijuana Users

Friday, January 30, 2026

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging Supreme Court to Strike Down Firearm Prohibition for Marijuana Users

Today, the National Rifle Association, along with the Independence Institute and FPC Action Foundation, filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the federal prohibition on firearm possession by marijuana users.

Virginia: More Gun Control Bills Filed Including Semi-Auto Ban and Tax on Suppressors!

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Virginia: More Gun Control Bills Filed Including Semi-Auto Ban and Tax on Suppressors!

Anti-gun legislators in Richmond have been busy ahead of the 2026 legislative session working on ways to burden your Second Amendment rights.

Oregon: Gun Control Scheduled for Day One of Session!

Saturday, January 31, 2026

Oregon: Gun Control Scheduled for Day One of Session!

On Monday, February 2nd, the Oregon Legislature will convene for the 2026 session, and gun control is already queued up for the first day of session.

Virginia: More Gun Control Introduced in General Assembly

Thursday, January 15, 2026

Virginia: More Gun Control Introduced in General Assembly

The 2026 Virginia legislative session is underway, and lawmakers are continuing their assault on your Second Amendment rights.

New Mexico: Senate Committee to Hear Sweeping Gun Control Bill

Monday, February 2, 2026

New Mexico: Senate Committee to Hear Sweeping Gun Control Bill

Update: SB 17 was not heard Monday but could come up at any time! Continue to contact your lawmakers!     On Monday, February 2nd, the New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on an ...

The Stakes are High as U.S. Supreme Court Considers Anti-gun “Vampire Rule”

News  

Monday, January 26, 2026

The Stakes are High as U.S. Supreme Court Considers Anti-gun “Vampire Rule”

On Tuesday, Jan. 20, the U.S. Supreme Court held oral arguments in a Second Amendment case that asked whether handgun carry licensees could be presumptively banned from carrying their arms onto publicly accessible private property. 

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.