You are four times more likely to die of a gunshot wound if you own a gun

The American Journal of Public Health published an article in 2009, which said:

After adjustment, individuals in possession of a gun were 4.46 (P < .05) times more likely to be shot in an assault than those not in possession. Among gun assaults where the victim had at least some chance to resist, this adjusted odds ratio increased to 5.45 (P < .05).

Conclusions. On average, guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in an assault. Although successful defensive gun uses occur each year, the probability of success may be low for civilian gun users in urban areas. Such users should reconsider their possession of guns or, at least, understand that regular possession necessitates careful safety countermeasures.

"One little-known fact about mass shootings is that they have been very good for the gun business. Americans' anxieties are stoked both by the random violence itself and the ensuing debates over gun control. Customers, including some who've never owned a gun, race to buy weapons they fear may be denied them down the road. And gun sales soar.

But the aftermath of a mass shooting does not appear to be very good for Americans' safety. New research suggests that the increased availability of firearms after a mass shooting exacts a deadly toll of its own.

That toll falls heavily on children, according to the study, which links the spike in gun sales following a mass shooting with an increase in fatal accidents involving firearms.

To reach that conclusion, researchers zeroed in on the five-month period following the Dec. 14, 2012, shootings in Newtown, Conn., that claimed the lives of 20 schoolchildren and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School."

  Owning a gun decreases your safety substantially

Robert Karl Stonjek