A Deadly Myth - Women, Handguns, and Self-Defense

The Violence Policy Center ^ | FR Post 10-27-2002 | Editorial Staff

[vannrox]

A Deadly Myth

Women, Handguns, and Self-Defense

Introduction

In the late 1980s, the gun industry began targeting women to counter slumping handgun sales among its primary market of white males. The false message delivered by gunmakers was clear: the greatest threat posed to a woman was an attack by a stranger and, the best form of protection a woman could rely upon was a handgun.¹

Much to the disappointment and consternation of the gun industry, these efforts for the most part have failed. A 1995 study by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) conducted by Tom Smith and Robert J. Smith found that handgun ownership among women was, and remains, uncommon. This study found any fluctuations in the percentage of women who owned handguns to be statistically insignificant (see Chart One below).²

The 1996 study Guns in America found that only 6.6 percent of adult American women owned a handgun—less than one out of every 10 women. But of these women, nearly 85 percent owned their handguns for self-defense—a figure that offers gunmakers continual hope in their marketing endeavors.³ Yet how often are handguns actually used by women to kill in self-defense? The answer, as revealed by unpublished Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) data, is hardly ever. Women were murdered with handguns more than 1,200 times in 1998 alone. As these numbers reveal, handguns don't offer protection for women, but instead guarantee peril.⁴

For all of the promises made on behalf of the self-defense handgun, using a handgun to kill in self-defense is a rare event.⁵ Looking at both men and women, over the past 20 years, on average only two percent of the homicides committed with handguns in the United States were deemed justifiable or self-defense homicides by civilians.⁶ To put it in perspective, more people are struck by lightning each year than use handguns to kill in self-defense.⁷

This study presents data from the FBI and consists of three different analyses concerning women, handguns, and self-defense. It compares incidents of:

• women using a handgun to kill in self-defense to women murdered with a handgun;
  
  
• women using a handgun to kill an intimate acquaintance in self-defense to women murdered by an intimate acquaintance with a handgun; and,
  
  
• women using a handgun to kill a stranger in self-defense to women murdered with a handgun.

In 1998, for every time a woman used a handgun to kill in self-defense, 101 women were murdered with a handgun.

Despite the promises of gun-industry advertising, a woman is far more likely to be the victim of a handgun homicide than to use a handgun in a justifiable homicide. In 1998, handguns were used to murder 1,209 women.⁸ That same year, 12 women used handguns to kill in self-defense.

When a woman did use a handgun to kill in self-defense, it was usually against someone she knew, not against a stranger. Of the 12 handgun self-defense killings by women reported to the FBI in 1998, eight involved attackers known to the woman, while only four involved strangers.

All the attackers that the women justifiably killed were males, as were an overwhelming number of offenders in female handgun homicides. For the majority of both justifiable and criminal homicides, both the shooter and the victim were of the same race. [See Table One]

TABLE ONE	Women who used a handgun to kill in self-defense	Attackers killed by a woman with a handgun in self-defense	Women murdered with a handgun	Those who murdered a woman with a handgun
Number of people	12	12	1,209	at least 1,1109
Average age	31.9	31.2	34.5	36.2
Race (where known)	White - 33% Black - 67% Other - 0%	White - 42%

Black - 58%

Other - 0%

White - 55%

Black - 42%

Other - 3%

White - 53%

Black - 45%

Other - 1%

Gender

.

Male - 100%

Female - 0%

.

Male - 96%

Female - 4%

Percent of incidents that were intra-racial¹⁰

75%

92%

In 1998, for every time a woman used a handgun to kill an intimate acquaintance in self-defense, 83 woman were murdered by an intimate acquaintance with a handgun.

It is often intimate acquaintances and family members who endanger a woman's life.¹¹ Yet women who own a handgun for self-defense usually do so to protect themselves from strangers. Many women who use handguns to kill in self-defense use the weapon against someone they know, or someone with whom they have, or have had, a romantic relationship.

Recognizing that most people are killed by someone they know, it is not surprising that the majority of justifiable homicides involve victims and attackers known to each other. Of the 12 justifiable homicides by women using a handgun that were reported to the FBI in 1998, eight involved an attacker known to the woman. Of these eight offenders, six were intimate acquaintances (three boyfriends, three husbands), one was a friend, and one was an acquaintance.

When there is a deadly encounter between a woman and her intimate acquaintance, and a handgun is involved, the most common scenario involves a woman being shot and killed by her intimate acquaintance. Of the 872 women murdered with a handgun whose relationship could be determined, 57 percent (497 of 872) were intimate acquaintances of the offender.¹² Of these, more than half (260 of 497) were wives of the offenders. [See Table Two]

TABLE TWO	Women who killed an intimate acquaintance with a handgun in self-defense	Women murdered by an intimate acquaintance with a handgun
Number of People	6	497
Relationships	3 were Girlfriends

3 were Wives

260 were Wives

180 were Girlfriends

31 were Common-Law Wives

26 were Ex-Wives

In 1998, for every time a woman used a handgun to kill a stranger in self-defense, 302 woman were murdered with a handgun.

Women who purchase handguns for self-protection are most likely planning to protect themselves and their families from strangers. Yet, women rarely use handguns to kill strangers in self-defense. In fact, compared to the frequency with which a woman uses a handgun to kill a stranger, the number of times that a handgun is used to murder a woman is staggering.

Table Three lists, by state, the number of women who used a handgun to kill a stranger or an intimate acquaintance in self-defense, as well as the number of women murdered with a handgun in 1998. Of the 47 states that submitted data to the FBI that year, only eight reported any justifiable homicides by women involving a handgun: California, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Of these, only California, Georgia, and North Carolina reported women who justifiably killed a stranger in self-defense, while California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas reported women who justifiably killed an intimate acquaintance in self-defense.

Table Three
State	Number of Women Who Used a Handgun			Number of Women Murdered with a Handgun
	to Kill a Stranger in Self-Defense	to Kill an Intimate Acquaintance in Self-Defense	to Kill a Friend or Acquaintance in Self-Defense
Alabama	0	0	0	37
Alaska	0	0	0	4
Arizona	0	0	0	42
Arkansas	0	0	0	20
California	2	1	0	178
Colorado	0	1	0	21
Connecticut	0	0	0	10
Delaware	0	0	0	2
Florida13	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Georgia	1	0	0	46
Hawaii	0	0	0	1
Idaho	0	0	0	5
Illinois	0	0	0	49
Indiana	0	0	0	51
Iowa	0	0	0	8
Kansas	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Kentucky	0	0	0	8
Louisiana	0	0	0	48
Maine	0	0	0	5
Maryland	0	0	0	28
Massachusetts	0	0	0	3
Michigan	0	0	1	41
Minnesota	0	0	0	6
Mississippi	0	0	0	15
Missouri	0	0	0	28
Montana	0	0	0	2
Nebraska	0	0	0	2
Nevada	0	0	0	16
New Hampshire	0	0	0	1
New Jersey	0	0	0	18
New Mexico	0	0	0	3
New York	0	0	0	45
North Carolina	1	0	0	59
North Dakota	0	0	0	0
Ohio	0	0	0	35
Oklahoma	0	1	0	20
Oregon	0	0	0	17
Pennsylvania	0	0	0	53
Rhode Island	0	0	0	0
South Carolina	0	0	0	39
South Dakota	0	0	0	1
Tennessee	0	2	0	34
Texas	0	1	1	124
Utah	0	0	0	8
Vermont	0	0	0	1
Virginia	0	0	0	34
Washington	0	0	0	27
West Virginia	0	0	0	9
Wisconsin	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Wyoming	0	0	0	5
Total	4	6	2	1,209

Table Four offers a more detailed analysis of the 1998 incidents involving women who used a handgun to kill a stranger in self-defense versus female handgun homicides. The female victims murdered with a handgun, as well as women who killed a stranger in self-defense, tended to be disproportionately black. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 1998 12.1 percent of the U.S. population was black.¹⁴ However, 42 percent of women murdered with a handgun and 75 percent of women who killed a stranger in self-defense with a handgun were black. Additionally, all the intruders that the women justifiably killed and an overwhelming number of the offenders in female handgun homicides were male. Finally, for both criminal and justifiable homicides, the majority of victims and offenders were of the same race.

TABLE FOUR	Women who used a handgun to kill a stranger in self-defense	Strangers killed by a woman with a handgun in self-defense	Women murdered with a handgun	Offenders who murdered a woman with a handgun
Number of people	4	4	1,209	at least 1,11015
Average age	32.0	24.0	34.5	36.2
Race (where known)	White - 25% Black - 75% Other - 0%	White - 25%

Black - 75%

Other - 0%

White - 55%

Black - 42%

Other - 3%

White - 53%

Black - 45%

Other - 1%

Gender

.

Male - 100%

Female - 0%

.

Male - 96%

Female - 4%

Percent of incidents that were intra-racial16

50%

92%

Conclusion

Currently, only a small minority of adult American women own a handgun. Before a woman purchases a handgun for protection, she must pause to consider whether the grave risk—in 1998, a woman was 101 times more likely to be murdered with a handgun than to use a handgun to justifiably kill an attacker—is one she is willing to accept.

 

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1. One example is an ad for Thunder Ranch, Inc., which provides "State of the art Firearms and Tactical training." The ad shows a woman dressed in a tight-fitting turtleneck and jeans, with a handgun holstered to her belt. The caption reads, "I go to Thunder Ranch. I refuse to be food for anybody!" (Women and Guns, May-June 1999, 55). An ad for Hidden Holster™ shows a woman asleep in her bed, dressed in a lacy negligee. Attached to her mattress is a handgun in a holster. The headline states, "Hidden Holster™ Keeps Your Handgun Ready!" while the text reads, "When in bed how accessible is your handgun? Do you know exactly where it is? Can you reach it without making a sudden move that could alert an intruder?" (Women and Guns, March-April 1998, 5). An ad for handgun manufacturer Beretta shows a pistol which fits "in the palm of your hand." The handgun is held in a woman's hand with manicured red fingernails and a delicate gold bracelet. (Women and Guns, March-April 1999, 33). An ad for New England Firearms shows a small, five-shot handgun—the "NEF® LADY ULTRA™ 32 H&R MAGNUM: The Sensible Choice for Personal Protection." The text reads, "Violent crime against women is on the rise—so you deserve the ability to protect yourself and your family. Increasingly, women are choosing firearms for personal defense; we hope you'll never need to use one, but you know you can't take chances, either." (Women and Guns, February 1997, 9).
   
   
2. Data from Tom W. Smith and Robert J. Smith, "Changes in Firearms Ownership Among Women, 1980-1994," The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 86, no.1 (1995): 133-149. The article did not provide data for the missing years. Additional data, 1996 to 1998, from phone conversation with Tom W. Smith, September 20, 2000. Statistical analysis applies only to years 1980 to 1994.
   
   
3. Philip J. Cook et al., Guns in America: Results of a Comprehensive National Survey on Firearms Ownership and Use (Washington, D.C.: Police Foundation, 1996), 33, 38.
   
   
4. A 1986 New England Journal of Medicine study entitled "Protection or Peril? An Analysis of Firearm-Related Deaths in the Home" found that for every time a firearm was used in a self-defense homicide, 37 lives were lost in gun suicides, 4.6 lives were lost in gun homicides, and 1.3 lives were lost via unintentional gun deaths. More specifically, handguns were used in 70.5 percent of the deaths. A 1998 Journal of Trauma study entitled "Injuries and Death Due to Firearms in the Home" looked at both fatal and non-fatal repercussions of having a firearm in the home and found that, for every time a gun in the home was used in a self-defense shooting, there were four unintentional shootings, seven criminal assaults or homicides, and 11 attempted or completed suicides.
   
   
5. Although the SHR offers no information on non-lethal self-defense firearm use, the Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) does. What is most striking about the information contained in the survey is how rarely firearms are used for self-defense. The April 1994 Justice Department study Guns and Crime revealed that according to the NCVS only about one percent (62,200) of all victims of violence claimed to have used a firearm of any type (handgun, rifle, or shotgun) to defend themselves. Another 20,300 reported using a firearm to defend their property during a theft, household burglary, or motor vehicle theft. (It should be noted however, that all self-defense uses were defined by the survey respondent, and would therefore include all perceived threats as well as legitimate threats.) Also, in these instances it is not known whether the gun was used successfully to stop the crime. In comparison, the study reported, offenders armed with handguns alone committed a record 931,000 violent crimes in 1992. Michael R. Rand, "Handgun Victimization, Firearm Self-Defense, and Firearm Theft: Guns and Crime," Crime Data Brief (Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, April 1994).
   
   
6. FBI Supplementary Homicide Report data, 1978-1998. In 1998,there were 191 civilian justifiable homicides in the United States according to the FBI SHR. Of these, 145 involved a handgun. Of these handgun justifiable homicides, 12 were committed by women, 121 were committed by men, and 12 were committed by people whose gender was not reported.
   
   
7. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, justifiable homicide is defined as: "The killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen."
   
   
8. 1998 is the most recent year available for FBI Supplementary Homicide Report data.
   
   
9. Number is unknown because many women were murdered by an unknown number of offender(s). Additionally, some women were murdered by more than one offender. The minimum number is 1,110 offenders.
   
   
10. Numbers in this category are based on single victim/single offender incidents only.
    
    
11. Intimate acquaintance is defined as a spouse, common-law spouse, ex-spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend, or homosexual lover.
    
    
12. Information regarding relationship of victim to offender was not available for the 99 women who were not listed as the first victim in a homicide (i.e., they were listed as the second or third victim in a homicide incident with multiple victims). Additionally, the relationship was categorized as unknown for 238 of the female victims who were the only or first victim in a homicide.
    
    
13. Information for the states of Florida, Kansas, and Wisconsin is not listed because they did not contribute their data to the FBI Supplementary Homicide Report in 1998.
    
    
14. "Resident Population Estimates of the United States by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: April 1, 1990 to November 1, 1999," (U.S. Census Bureau) downloaded April 4, 2000, from www.census.gov/population/estimates/nation/intfile3-1.txt; INTERNET.
    
    
15. Number is unknown because many women were murdered by an unknown number of offender(s). Additionally, some women were murdered by more than one offender. The minimum number is 1,110 offenders.
    
    
16. Numbers in this category are based on single victim/single offender incidents only.

 

 

All contents © 2001 Violence Policy Center

 

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The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.

[SpinyNorman]

Wow, what an egregious misuse of statistics!!

Bottom line (reiterating some of the above arguments):

1) The stats only cite women with guns that have killed their assailant. No mention of simply scaring them off, winging them, and women that simply wouldn't want to go through the hassle of reporting such a confrontation to the police.

2) The stats presented show women killed with guns, but the implication seems to be that these women were killed because they had no gun, i.e. were defenseless, and therefore died as a result. How many would have died if they could not defend themselves with a firearm?

The level of dishonesty in this article would prevent it from publication in a decent peer reviewed journal, but is probably just fine for our esteemed press!

[Pinetop]

Your nom de plum is one of my favorite Muddy Waters' records.

But, on point, I think women do need training in threat assessment and self defense. Obviously many are unable to recognize the threat posed by their spouse, ex, boyfriend or Ted Bundy predator. If she should get a gun, her intimate partner knows where it is kept or wrestles it away from them and ka-pow.

I remember for awhile there was this cool mag "Women and Guns". One particularly striking cover was of this brunette in a bright blue evening gown, bending over to hike up her skirt to draw her revolver from the ankle holster. Unfortunately for most women, she would never have gotten this far unless her assailant was asleep.

Talkin' 'bout my generation.

[xzins]

NORC is survey data.

They compare killings in self defense by women who have handguns with killings of all women by handguns!!! Is that slanted or what?

Properly, they'd be comparing killings by women who do own handguns against murders of women who do have handguns. (Women who do have handguns will effectively protect themselves at X rate.) Then they'd compare that with killings by women who don't have handguns with murders of women who don't have handguns.(Women who don't have handguns effectively protect themselves at X rate.)

I believe they'll discover that women who do have handguns protect themselves at a much greater rate than those women who do not have handguns.

[inquest]

I think we can rightfully assume that the "study" presented is the worst shot they could fire at us. Therefore, anything they don't attempt to refute can be regarded has having been conceded by them. They don't attempt to refute the fact that women (people in general, acutally) are safer with a gun than without; that there's no truth whatever to the myth that having a gun will put a person in significantly greater danger because the assailant might grab it from him (unless the intended victim has an IQ of under 70); and that guns pose no sigificant risk to life or limb from being fired "accidentally" (again, unless we're talking about someone with a low IQ or a high BAL).

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

So let me get this logic down.

1) Only 6.6 percent of women own handguns.
2) Only 12 people were killed by women using handguns in self-defense.
3) 1209 women were killed with handguns.

What can we conclude from these facts? Nothing logically.

The conclusion that women are better off without handguns is ludicrous.

Would the 12 women who killed attackers have been better off if they had not had a handgun?

Would the 1209 women murdered with handguns have been worse off if they had a handgun?

Obviously not in both those cases.

What about instances where the attacker was merely wounded by a woman with a handgun in self-defense? No statistics presented.

What about the instances where the attacker fled after the woman made the gun's presence known by revealing it? No statistics presented.

This is akin to stating that:

1) 16 Hospitals in Arizona have rattlesnake anti-venom
2) 4 cases of rattlesnake bites were treated with Anti-venom in Arizona last year
3) 300 people a year die of poison snake bites worldwide

and concluding that rattlesnake anti-venom is useless in fighting the scourge of poisonous snake bites and should be done away with.

[aeronca]

"Then my daughter and I will be part of those 12 women. We're keeping our weapons!

We are keeping ours too--practice with them every weekend that weather permits!

3 women--one Glock, one Mossberg, one Ruger: any questions?

Here is a link for some great reading for and by women with guns--be sure to catch "Lessons in Reality: Bitches With Guns" http://www.gunowners.org/womensvoice.htm

(sorry, you'll have to copy and paste URL)

[mvpel]

The true intentions of the VPC are revealed - they've recently launched the

website. You hear that everyone? The VPC would rather see you strangled to death in a dark alley than standing with a smoking handgun over the bleeding corpse of your would-be murderer. Any rational person should find this intensely offensive.

[Aracelis]

Thank you for the link!

[Monty22]

*spppewwww*

Had to do a spit take at that!

I can't believe they have gone this far. Now is a poor time for them to be pulling this crap, it's just going to cost more democrat votes (like what killed gore).

[inquest]

Now is a poor time for them to be pulling this crap, it's just going to cost more democrat votes (like what killed gore).

They can't afford to let up, though. If they even allow a hint that our side may actually have some legitimacy, that might start the public thinking. And they can't have that.

[dmband256]

actually, in a study done by Gary Kleck, a professor from the School of Criminology, Florida State Univerity, he found that handguns are used over 2 million times per year for self-defense.

if anyone wants good information on anti-gun control, go to www.guntruths.com or www.keepandbeararms.com.

as for myself, i'm a 19 year old female, and fully intend to carry a weapon as soon as i'm old enough. my mother, my sister, and I have all taken classes on gun safety and usage. my dad insisted. and all of us were certainly willing to do so.

[vannrox]

Thanks for the note.

My ex-wife used to carry a S&W "Lady-Smith" .38 SPECIAL 6-round revolver on her. It was a beautiful gun. Brushed Nickel pated. She fired it a number of times, but DID not practice on real and true aim and marksmanship with it.

The idea was that she would only pull it out to use it. And if it got to the point of pulling it out, she was to point it in the attackers chest and pull the trigger.

In 1994 we lived in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. There were reports of women missing. Their cars found at the side of the road empty. Police started to suspect that there was someone pretending to be a Police Officer and pulling over attractive young women.

I worked late at nite and both of us traveled around a bit. Mississippi is a beautiful state, but it is mostly wooded forests and isolated stretches that go for miles and miles.

One day, my ex-wife was driving alone. It wasn't that late at nite. Maybe 8:00 PM. The road wasn't that deserted either. But a car started to follow her. It began to flash it's lights. Not the way a "trucker" would flash his lights... but rather like that of a Police car with alternating lights. You know, left then right then left then right. The car was a plain blue car. It didn't look like an unmarked police car or anything.

My ex-wife refused to pull over. For a number of reasons, but we have had some rough and tumble times so she knew better. Especially since the radio was all talking about the string of missing women.

This guy kept on following her. OVER 25 miles! Along a deserted stretch he pulled up to her side and trided to force her to the ditch in the side of the road.

I don't know how she did it, but she pulled around and floored it to a closed "Dairy Queen" resturant and tried to hide. But he came in, spun gravel and blocked her way out.

He got out. The whole time he had a smile on his face. Like he was thinking something funny. She said that he was a kind of good looking guy. About 14 or 27. White with long blonde hair that was really greasy. He had a scraggly gotee. And a dirty tee shit with some stupid logo.

When he got out of the car he walked right up to her car. The entire time with his hand behind his back (right hand). His left hand was free.

Even though her window was rolled up. And her doors were locked. She pulled the 38 Special out of her Carry Box. (It came in a carry box. And that is the way she was carrying it at the time. She did not like the belt holster that I got for her, nor did she like the ankle holster either.

She aimed it right for him and shouted "What do you want?"

We, still with a smile on his face, and still facing her, and with his right hand behind his back, he backed up and got in his car and drove away. The car had no plates.

Her life was saved. You never know what may happen. Take no chances and don't believe those who say that it will never ever happen. You will never know. We still are great friends and she is a lovely girl. But we both get so angry when we are told that we are wrong to defend ourselves. Don't let anyone disarm you and make you into a weak and defensiveless female target.

[dmband256]

I'm glad to hear your ex-wife was okay. My mother used to have to walk alone downtown in the city very late at night, and she always carried a S&W Lady Smith .38 Special 6-round revolver too. Thankfully she never needed to use it.

[Straight Vermonter]

The 1996 study Guns in America found that only 6.6 percent of adult American women owned a handgun—less than one out of every 10 women. < snip>In 1998, for every time a woman used a handgun to kill a stranger in self-defense, 302 woman were murdered with a handgun.

First they say how few women own handguns and then they say how seldom women are able to defend themselves with handguns. Sounds like their conclusions from these statistics are 180 degress from my own.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

It's like saying seat belts only saved a life if your non-belted passenger dies in the accident.

Bingo! The logical inconsistency of their arguments just shines through. It also excludes all the women whose lives were saved by displaying a handgun, all the women who were not assaulted for fear thereof. It also assumes that all the women killed by handguns would not have been killed otherwise. Many would have died from beatings and stabbings otherwise.