The idea of the law-abiding armed citizen—ready, vigilant, and prepared to defend against an imminent threat—is a common refrain in the gun debate. But how often does it actually happen? A new study from Rutgers Health suggests the answer is almost never.
The study found that less than 1% of people with firearm access used their guns in self-defense in any given year. That can be taken as good news. After all, nobody wants to get into a situation where they have to use their guns. However, those with firearms were far more likely to experience gun violence in other ways, whether through exposure to neighborhood shootings or knowing someone who died by suicide with a firearm.
“It’s not that defensive gun use never happens,” said Michael Anestis, executive director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers and lead author of the study. “But the notion that firearm owners are routinely saving their own lives or those of their loved ones by using a firearm in self-defense simply is not backed up by the data.”
A Closer Look at the Numbers
The researchers surveyed 8,009 adults in May 2024, including 3,000 people with firearm access. They asked participants about their experiences with defensive gun use, gun violence exposure, and firearm storage habits.
Only 8.3% reported ever using a gun defensively in any form. The most common action—reported by 4.7%—was showing a firearm to a perceived threat. Telling someone that they were armed accounted for 3.8%. Fewer than 2% reported ever firing their weapon in self-defense, and fewer than 1% had done so in the past year.
By contrast, gun violence exposure was significantly more widespread. Over half of respondents (51.8%) reported hearing gunshots in their neighborhood at some point, while 34.4% knew someone who had died by firearm suicide. Nearly one in five (18.5%) had been threatened with a gun, and 21.3% knew someone who had been shot.
Although just 2.1% of the overall sample had been shot themselves, 59.5% of all cases of defensive gun use at a perceived threat occurred among those who had previously been shot themselves.
Who Uses Guns for Defense?
The study also explored the characteristics of those most likely to report defensive gun use. Those who had experienced gun violence, carried firearms more frequently, or stored their firearms loaded and unlocked were more likely to say they had used a gun for self-defense.
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These findings align with previous research suggesting that firearm ownership is linked to increased risk rather than increased safety. Studies have shown that owning a gun does not necessarily prevent injury or property loss during a crime. Instead, the presence of a firearm often escalates dangerous situations.
“If individuals themselves have experienced gun violence or they more frequently have quick and ready access to their firearms, they may be more prone to perceiving threats and responding through the use of their firearm,” Anestis said.
But perception doesn’t always match reality. “It is important to note that just because someone perceives someone else as a threat does not mean they were one,” he added. “And if someone truly is a threat, that does not always mean a firearm is necessary for defense.”
For policymakers and the public, the findings challenge a widely held belief that personal firearms serve as a reliable tool for self-protection. While some individuals do use guns defensively, the findings that this is the exception, not the rule.
“When we consider policies, we need to more heavily weigh the harms that frequently occur, not the instances of defense that rarely happen,” Anestis said.
The findings appeared in the journal JAMA Network Open.
