GAO fact sheet supports value of guns

On Feb. 26, Glen Grosch questioned a writer who said "guns save lives more than a million times a year." According to the GAO fact sheet, guns are used by law-abiding citizens to defend themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million times every year or about 6,850 times a day. The majority merely brandish their gun or fire a warning shot to scare off their attackers. Less than 8 percent of the time, will a citizen kill or wound his/her attacker. As many as 200,000 women use a gun every year to defend themselves against sexual abuse.

Even anti-gun Clinton researchers concede that guns are used 1.5 million times annually for self-defense. This was published in 1997.

Vermont, one of the five safest states in the country, citizens can carry a firearm without getting permission, paying a fee and no waiting period. And Vermont has remained one of the five safest states.

States that passed concealed carry laws reduced their murder rate by 8.5 percent, rapes by 5 percent, aggravated assaults by 7 percent and robbery by 3 percent.

Kennesaw, Georgia, in 1982: This suburb of Atlanta passed a law requiring heads of households to keep at least one firearm in the house. The burglary rate subsequently dropped 89 percent in Kennesaw, compared to the modest 10.4 percent drop in Georgia as a whole.

More information can be found on the internet under FBI.

Robert Chmela

Elgin