The Reality of Handguns

Number of handgun-related killings by private U.S. citizens that were deemed justifiable homicides: 

-- less than 2.5% over the years 2004-2008.

Source: Julie Cantor, New England Journal of Medicine, June 30, 2010, in turn taken from Crime in the United States, 2008. Washington, DC: Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2009. (Accessed June 30, 2010, at http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/offenses/expanded_information/homicide.html.)