Washington (AFP) – Contrary to what the gun lobby argues, personal firearms in the United States are rarely used for self-defense, a gun control advocacy group said Wednesday.

In an analysis of FBI and other federal government data, the non-profit Violence Policy Center said Americans are far more likely to hurt themselves or others when handling a lethal weapon.

In 2012, it said, only 259 “justifiable homicides” involving a private citizen were reported, compared to 8,342 criminal homicides committed with a gun.

Put another way, for every justifiable homicide involving a gun, 32 criminal homicides carried out with a firearm occurred. And that does not take into account “tens of thousands” of gun-related suicides and unintentional shootings.

Source: Guns rarely used for self-defense in US – Yahoo News

And so starts the next round of drivel from the mainstream media. None of the FBI or CDC statistics take into account successful uses in which no one has to get shot. Police officers point their guns at thousands of people every year without firing a single round. They gain compliance and no one gets hurt. A gun was “used” but it does not count as a homicide or injury. The same is true for millions of gun owners.That’s not suggesting we all go around pointing guns at each other but, the fact is, if your threat runs away with his hair on fire and you don’t have to shoot him, that’s a successful use of a firearm. None of that is being counted here.

-GM

NEW YORK — Gun enthusiasts have plenty of options for industry news and firearms reviews. And the National Rifle Association boasts its own media arm to amplify any perceived threats against Second Amendment.

What’s missing in the gun-media landscape, say founders of The Trace, is a news outlet devoted to the prevention of violence.

“We believe that the rate of gun violence is too high and we believe that there is not enough information about the issue as a whole,” editorial director James Burnett told The Huffington Post in an interview. “As journalists, we have it as our mission to address that shortage of information.”

Source: The Trace, Bloomberg-Backed Journalism Startup, Tackles Gun Violence ‘Epidemic’

This seems redundant. The mainstream media is already slanted against guns and “gun violence.” They already make up complete lies about guns, gun owners, gun legislation and anything relating to guns. How “The Trace” will be any different other than being upfront about it’s anti-gun bias is beyond me.

According to HuffPo, “Six of seven staffers have had direct experience with guns, some through reporting.” James Burnett says in his case, it was college ROTC and goes on to say, “The Trace isn’t reflexively “anti-gun,” but is “anti-gun violence.””

Yeah. OK. Pretty sure all of us are against unlawful violence. Their goal however, is a state monopoly on violence. Because, the state has never been known to treat people inhumanely, imprison them without trial, or even kill them without due process. Nope. Our government has NEVER done any of that and there’s no reason for the people to be armed to keep said government in check.

And of course, some are of the belief that if we could just ban guns, that no one would die or that criminals would all magically stop acquiring guns and killing people with them. It’s been tried. The result is just black market manufacture, import, sale of firearms just as is the case with illicit drugs. I mean, banning cocaine, marijuana, and other drugs has worked so well.

-GM