Any place to find records on...

[pbwalker]

I'm just reading tonight and was wondering if there were any sites or documents where a CHLer has used force and the circumstances around the use of said force? I have seen the records of crime rates and how CHLers compare...just looking for more reading material.

-bw

[Skiprr]

I don't believe you will find statistical information at the site--unless you formulate it yourself--but the NRA's American Rifleman has published "The Armed Citizen" column since 1958.

You can certainly find more reading material about armed citizens defending themselves.

http://www.nraila.org/ArmedCitizen/default.aspx

[seamusTX]

There aren't comprehensive statistics about CHL self-defense. The closest you can come is Dr. John Lott's More Guns Less Crime and some work by Dr. Gary Kleck.

There are a couple of reasons for this. Most "defensive gun use" ends with no shots fired. The police take a report and that is the end of it. There is no subsequent arrest or court records.

Most of these incidents occur at home or a place of business, so having a CHL would be irrelevant.

The scenario of a CHL holder defending himself while walking down the street, driving, or otherwise going about his business in a public place is relatively rare. If I were forced to guess, I would say it happens maybe once a week in the U.S. An incident occurred yesterday in Kansas City, Missouri: http://www.kansascity.com/116/story/731000.html

One reason for this is that people who give serious thought to self-defense do not put themselves in risky situations; and their self-awareness warns off criminals, who move on to easier targets.

The total number of justifiable homicides in the U.S. fluctuates around 400 to 600 a year, and two-thirds of those are by police. You can find that information in the FBI Uniform Crime Report: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm

You could start reading here: http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcdguse.html

- Jim