Report Highlights

• An FBI  analysis of active shooter situations further revealed that unarmed civilians are more than 20 times as likely to successfully end an active shooting than are armed civilians (excluding armed security guards).
• Since May 2007, more than 1,000 people have died at the hands of persons who held concealed carry permits, including 31 mass shootings and the killings of 19 police officers.
• Many concealed carry holders who committed fatal shootings have histories of domestic abuse, criminality, substance misuse, and suididal behavior.
• In the 13 states with the lowest standards for legal gun ownership, 60% of those who are incarcerated for committing violent crimes with guns legally possessed the guns they used in those crimes. Each of these 13 states have RTC or permitless carry laws.
• After controlling for changes in incarceration rates and the number of police per capita, RTC laws were associated with a 10% higher murder rate 10 years following the adoption of RTC laws.
• Many events reported as defensive gun uses (DGUs) are not purely defensive, justified, or lawful.  Only 43% of reported DGUs were deemed to be legally justified uses of firearms by judges.
• Using a firearm does not alter injury risk during criminal victimization; 4% of victims were injured after they used or attempted to use a firearm in self-defense compared to 4% of victims who were injured after they took other proactive protective measures.
• The U.S. Supreme Court has said that the Second Amendment is “not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.”
• 83% of gun owners agreed “… that a person who can legally carry a concealed gun should be required to pass a test demonstrating they can safely an lawfully handle a gun in common situations they might encounter.” The same percentage (83%) of Republicans agreed with this statement, as well as 87% of Democrats and 84% of Independents.