FSU researcher says
guns protect the innocent


By Larry Keough
FSU Communications Group

How does a self-described liberal and member of the American Civil Liberties Union become the academic darling of the National Rifle Association?

The answer is in the research of FSU criminology Professor Gary Kleck, whose findings challenge much of the accepted wisdom about gun use and abuse in America.

The NRA has hailed Kleck's assessment of federal crime statistics as evidence that guns are much more likely to be used defensively than aggressively and are more likely to be owned by law-abiding citizens than by criminals.

"I'm treated as a hero by people I have very little in common with," Kleck says.

While the NRA cites his findings, gun-control advocates counter with research that says the risk of dying from a gunshot increases 2.7 times for people who live in a home where a gun is kept.

Kleck and his colleague, FSU Professor Marc Gertz, surveyed nearly 5,000 U.S. residents.

Based on the 4 percent who responded that they had used guns against criminal attacks, the researchers project that at least 2.1 million private citizens each year use guns to defend themselves against criminals. That's about four times the reported crimes committed with guns annually, he said.

Police officers, security guards and the military were excluded.

Of 213 people who admitted to using a gun when confronted by offenders, about 76 percent said they drew the gun, but did not fire. The other 24 percent said they fired as a warning (one-third) or at their attacker (two-thirds).

Defenders mostly drew guns to deter attackers who had a knife, stick or weapon other than a firearm.

"This study shows that armed victims are willing to use guns to thwart attacks, especially when assailants possess non-firearms," Kleck says. "In incidents involving gun-carrying attackers, they have the option of using their gun if they have to."

Though 18 percent of the armed citizens were confronted by an attacker with a gun, most of the criminals did not fire, Kleck says.

Only 3 percent of the survey's reported incidents involved an exchange of gunfire.

Most of those who used guns succeeded in protecting themselves and their property. If they were injured, it was usually before they used a firearm, Kleck says.

Kleck says the policy implication of his research is: Don't take guns away from law-abiding citizens.
"Instead of targeting particular types of guns, we should target certain types of individuals from possessing guns," says Kleck, author of the 1991 book, "Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America."