Gun Control "Study" Misses the Mark Badly on Lawful Self-Defense

Likely as a response to the growing number of American’s who have come to realize that having a firearm makes them safer, a blogger at the washingtonpost.com recently reported on a “study ” by an anti-gun professor that attempts to discredit the utility of carrying a firearm for self-defense by placing participants into simulated self-defense scenarios. The “study” was notably prepared for the anti-gun group National Gun Victims Action Council.

The thrust of the Post article is a not-so-veiled attempt to convince readers that carry permit holders are unprepared for most self-defense encounters. However, the “study” doesn’t actually show this at all. The “study” didn’t limit the participants to concealed carry permit holders. Therefore, the conclusions in the study can’t be applied to people who have actually made the decision to carry a gun for self-defense.

Perhaps the most interesting finding, given the “study’s” consistent recommendation of extensive training for carry permit holders, is that there was no statistical evidence that training improved participants’ accuracy during the simulated encounters, largely due to the fact that the scenarios were so badly designed. But even without any evidence, the authors of the “study” press on, which is not uncommon among anti-gun fanatics trying to advance their cause.

Self-defense simulations are not needed to determine if lawfully armed citizens can defend themselves from criminal attacks. Armed citizens defend themselves and others on a daily basis. Just a few examples from this month show that armed citizens are able to consistently make the correct split-second decisions in real-life encounters with violent attack. On July 3, a Milwaukee clothing storeowner used an AR-15 to repel three armed men who had already crashed a van through the front of his store. In Georgia, an Army veteran ended an armed robbery with accurate fire from his lawfully carried pistol. In perhaps the best example, only days after Kansas’ permitless carry law took effect, an armed citizen carrying under the new provision foiled an armed robbery without firing a shot.

With over 11 million armed citizens with carry permits and many more carrying where no permit is required, criminals are more and more likely to be confronted by a lawfully armed citizen, which can only lead to more Americans understanding the societal benefits of having “a good guy with a gun” when and where you need them most.