What’s Your Gun Number?

The Washington Post is trolling for gun violence stories to prepare a compelling anti-gun narrative for the first anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting. In their own words:

Saturday marks a year since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.  Since the shooting, an intense political debate on guns has occurred, with about 1,500 gun bills introduced across the country. But for many Americans, the impact of guns and gun violence has also been incredibly personal, making this week a time for reflection.

As we cover the politics and policy about guns, we are also looking for stories of the personal impact of gun violence. Share your story using the form below.

The form includes the question, “How many people do you know who have been killed or injured by gun violence?” This number is what the Post calls your “gun number.” I don’t know if you are to subtract people from that list who have been shot by the police or shot in active combat. It doesn’t matter, I’m sure. The higher the number the better. The Post is also encouraging people to post photos:

We’re illustrating this project with photographs of people holding their “gun numbers.” If you can take a photo like this, it would help us illustrate your story and increase your chances of appearing on the site.

You may write your number on anything—a piece of paper, a chalkboard, a notebook—and take it with a cellphone or a camera. You can upload a photo below or, in the next box, send us a link to an Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or other photo.

Given the fact that social media exacerbates the already competitive bend of human nature, I’m sure some idiots will be one-upping each other into triple digits in no time. The Washington Post is going to use all of these numbers and sob stories, of course, as a way to bolster their claims that guns harm more than they help.

I’d like to recommend something as a counterpart. Let’s change the gun number narrative by posting pictures with a negative number instead of a positive. Call it the “gun defense number.” It represents the number of people you personally know (including yourself) who have been protected by a gun in the hands of a private citizen.

If the gun number people make an honest accounting and the gun defense number people do the same, I am sure that the net gun number would be negative. And that would actually be a positive. So… what’s your gun number?

159 responses

  1. If it wasn’t for guns and similar armament, most of us would not be here; least we forget that our US military is armed, our police forces are armed, our state militias are armed; and, but unfortunately our criminals are armed also. In the real world, arms are necessary, in fairy tales they are not needed. I kissed a frog this morning on the way in, it remained a frog, so I will continue to hold onto my .38, thank you.

    • I salute you for your bravery. I could never kiss Senator Feinstein like you did!!! BTW, Feinstein carried a Beretta 9 mm for most of her years in office. While working to disarm us little people, of course…

    • Good one James.
      I kissed my wife before I left and in order to be alive to kiss her when I get home I pack a 45 cal. wart hog. The wife uses a Bursa Thunder 380, she’ll get home also.

  2. As an American Veteran and a police officer for 14 yrs. the number of those protected by a firearm, that I have protected AND that have protected me are too numerous to count!
    To those who came to my assistance…all I can say again is “Thank you, and God bless you!”

    • Not counting my time in the military, I personally know three not counting myself. My Father, My best friend and a neighbor. While working in a gas station I was confronted by a knife wielding punk. when I pulled a .357 out from under the counter and pointed it at him, he actually pissed his pants. The cops didn’t want to put him in their cruiser so they ordered the drunk wagon. I truly believe he would have cut me if I hadn’t had the pistol at my disposal.

    • With all the cops going off the rail nation wide and doing the dumbest things I have ever heard of,you might want to talk to your fellow cops.They are fast losing the TRUST and RESPECT of the Citizens.I have gotten to the point that I don’t trust a cop to do the right thing anymore and wouldn’t call one for ANYTHING.I had a run in with some cops that I CALLED and when they got there I WAS THE ONE THAT WAS TREATED LIKE A COMMON CRIMINAL.One went to my vehicle and went through my wallet with out a reason or my permission.That is a Direct violation of my Constitutional Right and from that point on they lost any trust or respect from me,If one were to ask for help I would tell them to pound salt.

      • Must agree – Many good cops out there but more and more buying in to this B/S, that’s gotten even worse since OBuma has been in office. Power, above the law and the constitution, no accountability. Get ride of Eric Holder and you will see things starting to change,. In the meantime do as me and most of my friends, buy good ammo.

  3. Seems that in the past year most of the people killed by guns were unarmed citizens killed by Police. How about a story on that! It would appear that we need guns to protect ourselves from the violence of the Police more than criminals.

  4. The Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy study shows the anti-gun crazies to be absolutely wrong. Anti-gun laws increase the rate of gun deaths, not lower them. Liberals always lie to meet their agenda of public control.

    • One only has to look at Chicago and Washington D.C. to answer the anti gun debate along with the overwhelmingly majority of violent gun crime in gun free zones.

      • Shhh. Commieonazicrats don’t want that known. That is why they lie so much about it. They are trying to cover up the truth, as usual.

      • Stan, you missed one. New York also has a high Gun Crime Rate. The New York City Police Chief, at the present and his Lackeys, are trying to make it sound like it is dropping by changing the way the Rate is computed. Take a few from the bad side, change it to the good side and you have instant gain in less Crime. Anybody can do that, ask the Pollster’s, they do it every time. Thank you for your time. TSgt., USAF Retired.

        • The way England reports their crimes makes their gun crimes look very low. Their statistics sucks, great for covering up the high rate of gun crimes.

    • My message to liberals is this, if you don’t want to own or have a gun, then don’t….and leave the rest of the citizens who do, alone!

    • Ask the young woman I saved from getting stabbed by two young thugs more than 30 years ago. My 38 special convinced the thugs to go or die. They chose to go. No shots fired, just me and my friends Mr. Smith & Wesson. If I had not been armed so many years ago…something bad would have happened. If an unarmed Dem voter and liberal had come upon these bad guys…they would do what all Dems do….run like cowards.

    • You’re right on both counts. I think a more productive question might be, “How many people do you know who have been PROTECTED by a gun?”

      If asked that question, I’d have to say that several members of my own family have used guns to fend off dangerous aggressors, MULTIPLE times over the years. The remarkable fact is that in none of these cases was a shot fired or a person injured. Responsible, law abiding citizens who take up arms in self defense typically don’t end up shooting or killing anyone, and legally armed citizens typically have few gun accidents and commit virtually NO gun related crimes.

      These are the real statistics that the gun control fanatics ignore, even if you explain the facts to them. The truth is, gun control isn’t really about controlling guns, it’s about controlling people. The most ardent gun control advocates are liberal politicians, as you stated. I wonder why?

  5. Had a man wanting to assault me years ago. He got over it when I spun the cylinder. In Iraq, folks at ALL ranks were very polite to each other. Seems they were all packing and loaded. Very polite society that way.

  6. My “gun number” is 3 – but 2 of those were shot by cops.

    My “Gun Defense Number is 19”
    These do not consider the time I spent in Vietnam.

  7. Tens of thousands – just in the 18th and 19th centuries alone. Unfortunately, using guns, the US Government itself was responsible for the extermination of 10’s of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of “indigenous” North American people during the 19th century alone. Which should be THE example used to show that WE – all of us – are NOT safe as long as the US Government is armed ON our soil.

    • Forgot to include the War of Northern Aggression casualties (all sides) as a DIRECT result of the US Government having guns on our soil. Lincoln did NOT have to ask for, nor did Congress have to declare, war on states that seceded. There is NO provision in the US Constitution that prohibits secession. NONE.

  8. maybe the question for all these “mental midgets” should be answered by the country of Switzerland and their everyone owns a firearm attitude. An armed society is a polite society.

  9. I am protected by a gun every day, so is my wife and so are many of my friends and aquaintces. I do not know anyone that has been injured by gun violence that was not combat related. I read occasionally where the police shoot and kill or injure people inappropriately, and I read where criminals are injured or killed when in the act of committing a crime by honest people that happen to be on the scene and are armed. If there had been armed personel present at Sandy Hook, that incident wouldn’t have gone down the way it did. Any time statistics are looked at relative to private gun ownership, it is found that when gun owenership goes up, violent crime goes down. Commieonazicrats hate that because they want to disarm the people so that they can inslave us easily because we can’t resist, which is what “gun control” is all about. They are after people control. If they take our guns, it should be one bullet at a time.

  10. Would the number of people getting a peaceful nights sleep knowing that their protection is an arms length away have any positive effect on the numbers?

  11. In reality every citizen of this country has been protected by a firearm “police, military, or personal” it is only those that chose to become criminal that use them in a criminal manner.

  12. According to independent studies from universities to the CDC the statistics of thawarted crime from robbery to violent attack ranges above 100,000 incidents per year with highest estimates over a million.

    A sample of newspaper reports yields over 6000 responses for the question of guns used in self defense.

    Here is the sample:
    Armed Citizen

    http://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/armed-citizen.aspx?pageNum=4

  13. If more able bodied citizens were properly armed, we would not need nearly so many police. BTW, Police are armed in order to protect THEMSELVES FIRST !

    It is still up to each one of US as individuals to protect ourselves and our familys……

    A properly trained and armed citizenry is a peaceful and well protected citizenry.

    If more People were armed, there would be only a Small Fraction of the violent crimes committed in our country, and the criminals would be scared & few and far between.

    This government is doing Everything in it’s power too strip us of ALL our Constitutional Rights and it’s the 2nd amendment that protects all the others !

    • I am not too able bodies anymore, but I still pack my 45ACP. Have you ever heard that if you mess with an old man, you could get dead quickly?

    • I (as in ME) am the “First Responder” when I am threatened.

      Just like every other ‘victim’.

      Every “First Responder” should be well armed and well trained in responding faster than the perp can respond to a 230 gr 45 ACP round.

      Even 6 rounds from a little .22 long rifle can be very effective.

  14. we the people,who are the real government.how many illegals have used guns,how many gangs have used guns,how many felons/mentaly ill/drug addicts have used guns.how many politicans who are trying to take our guns away have there own security/own guns themselves/live in secure area.when ovomit and mr politicans give up there own securitys/private security forces.then we will think about it.

  15. Real “gun number” is those who have used firearms for self defense. This real gun number is between 500,000 and 3,000,000 in the US every year.

  16. Hilter and many dsictators take away the free peoples fire arms so there in no recurse to total control. When Ameicans try to take the U.S. Gouvernment back there will no recourse. We will belong the the U.N. HLS Knows who you are and where you will be and who you will be with. The constution will not render any support. A droan will take you all out. But our ellected officals are unable to stop this because it has happened while we slept. 1945 to 2013. Our children have been taught the marrets of socialism from the first grade. They are the ones who ellected obma. Give the education back to the states and their parents. Shut down the dept. of education and the teachers ujnion. In their lessons oboma is a savour; alaha is the only god. Go Figure

  17. Can I send a pic that mentions the hundreds of millions murdered by ruthless dictators that forced gun control before he could murder them?

  18. Simple fact:
    People killed by governments after conviscation of
    weapons in the last 70 years…..73,000,000. People killed in wars in
    military service worldwide in the last 70 years……38,000,000. So we
    can conclude it is almost twice as safe to exist in an combat unit in
    the Military, than it is to exist and live in a State that wants to
    conviscate your weapons!

    As far as the Police are concerned the rate of accidental shootings by Police are 11 times greater than that of civilian accidental shootings……So if you want to flounder statistics….Maybe we should disarm the Police and allow the general public to enforce the laws! As far as a “Gun Number” as to how many are protected by guns on a daily basis? Israel……more than 7,000,000 on a daily basis…..One second without them being armed and the place would be overrun with Islamist terrorist! Whether you like it or not….it maynot be as direct but the United States itself with over 450,000,000 would be over run by lawless and criminal content in a moment if the citizens were unarmed! Try crunching some real numbers:
    1. 30,000,000 Illegals in this country
    2. 68,000,000 Use drugs and or are Alcohol abusers
    3. 75,000,000 have some sort of Criminal records
    4. With approximately 8 million incarcerated in jails and prisons (That the Liberals would love to release, just prior to any election.)
    So even at the most minimal figure every American is directly protected by guns from some 181,000,000 criminal elements on a daily basis! Sure beats the hell out of 1,500 gun reforms! Thats more than a 121,000 reasons per bill why they should never be passed!

  19. It really doesn’t matter how guns someone has in their house. The people with guns in their houses cannot stop me from purchasing the commercial properties down the street. Oh let’s see, hotels, apartment complexes, shopping centers and office buildings. Not to mention gas stations and other commercial properties such as country clubs. The police officers and military are powerless to stop me from doing what it is that I’m doing on the internet. I’ll say it again. The police officers and the military cannot stop me from buying the hotels, apartment complexes and other commercial properties down the street. Neither can the security guards do so.

  20. Our Founding Fathers were excellent judges of Human Nature. They created and made it the SUPREME LAW of the United States of America for a REASON. They made We the People sovereign rulers of the United States of America. Every sovereign has the God Given RIGHT of self defense. Especially for a tyrant in power.

  21. The 2nd Amendment is one sentence, the first part is “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state,….
    What does that mean relative, to the rest of the amendment?

  22. I might be guessing MMs as our “guns” were fairly sophisticated.
    fmr LCDR MC USNR NUKE 8.5 years active/4.5 as LCDR resigned 4 July 1978

  23. Dear Liberal RAG W Post. Take your propaganda stories and shove them up your collective rear exits. I carry a Large Caliber Concealed Weapon Legally.
    It has killed no one today.

  24. I am a law enforcement officer and have been for over a decade. I for one will not be taking firearms from my fellow countrymen. I know many other Leo who will not either. This should be a testament of how out of touch the federal government is with it’s people. Take that for what it’s worth. Live free or die.

  25. Watch the trolls, liberals, democrats, atheist, abortionist, homo’s & communist (I mean “progressives”) go APE$HIT over this…..

  26. I got a little off topic. We recently had a robbery attempt at a local drug store stopped by an armed clerk. Bad guy approaches counter with a knife (bad idea) clerk confronts bad guy with a black semi auto unknown make pistol the body language from the bad guy was priceless. Did I mentioned bad guy was dressed like one of the blues brothers. You can’t make this stuff up. I actually saw the video. Moral of the story don’t bring a knife to a gun fight or don’t be a jack ass and try and rob people get a job.

  27. Here’s an idea? Why don’t they have all the directors of planned parenthood clinics send in all their numbers??

  28. This is a joke, but I will treat it as if it is serious. I know personally in addition to myself on three occasions when having a weapon and willingness to use it prevented violence against me and two other people – that is a total of five – eight others who prevented violence, stopped crime and/or wounded or killed the perpetrators of criminal acts against others. That is at least 13, more like a couple of dozen counting the people who were with those who were armed and ready to defend themselves and others.

  29. there is a place that called (life/death clock) at a site called ammoguide.com you dont have to join it there is a demo version that you can log on to get into the site to look at it, On the left there are areas to look at, it’s mostly about reloading and it’s data, but there is this thing called life and death clock, taken from real data that shows how many people die from what all yr long, smoking, doctors mistakes, car accidents, so on, on the bottom it shows how many people that where saved by having a gun to defend themselves, It’s very high,,, it keeps track all yr long than resets jan-1 you can watch it move every so often it counts up another one. and its all from reliable info, CDC all kind of real places.

  30. Every single person I know has been and is currently being protected by a gun(s). This is the dumbest question I’ve read in a very long time. If you live in the U.S. you and I are being protected by guns as I respond to the nonsense question. No guns, now liberty, no guns….no United States of America. Who writes this nonsense???

    • As the writer of this article was saying “The Washington Post is trolling for gun violence stories to prepare a compelling anti-gun narrative for the first anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting” Your big clue to the nonsense is the libtard WP and then the suggestion by this writer is that it would be a NEGATIVE number.

  31. How about we rephrase the question and instead ask how many unarmed citizens have been murdered by tyrannical governments who first disarmed them? That number is WELL over the 100 Million number. The plain truth, that the left wishes to ignore, is that guns in the hands of law abiding citizens have always saved lives. If fact…. without guns in the hands of citizens….. America would not exist. The founders were wise enough to give us the 2nd amendment for a very simple reason. Government needs to have a healthy fear of the people being governed. If we are unarmed…… all that is left is all of us fearing government.

  32. I wish I knew computers well enough I’d set up a web site or blog for people to tell how they were saved my a gun, and I’d post my story first.

    • The NRA has a great section on their website called the Armed Citizen and tells the thousands of good experiences where a law abiding citizen took down a criminal by lawfully using a weapon. Really good news but nothing you will see in the mainstream news.

  33. California has a gazillion Gun Laws and none of them work! We hear on the news that another shooting (or 2) occurred last night in Sacramento. This is almost a nightly happening. Los Angeles has its share of shootings almost nightly! AN ARMED CITIZEN IS A GOOD AND SAFE CITIZEN! Society is safer when a criminal doesn’t know who’s armed (California Rifle and Pistol Association)!

      • On what planet does she reside? Maybe on hers aliens behave this way, but not on earth. She needs to go back to psych 101. And these people who lead are LEARNED? Human nature my *ss. Human nature is that of power and conquest. Just look at history. No, better yet, look at the current Democrat party.

  34. The USA, everyone who lives here, is protected with guns on a daily basis! Without those guns and guts, we would be speaking German or Japanese or Russian or gibberish of some third world country. That is how we are protected by GUNS! That is what Obama doesn’t like. He wants No guns NOT because some screwballs shoot each other or takes little children’s lives but so Americans will not be able to protect their own lives and property when Big Government wants to fully take over!
    It’s called Socialism or worse, Marxism!

  35. I got lost in a black section of Indianapolis on evening and turned down an alley to try to turn around. Bad idea. I had my car surrounded by a group of thugs hitting my car and threatening to hit my window with a baseball bat. they were shouting obscenities, and said you picked the wrong F…… alley cracker. I reached under my seat and pulled a stainless Ruger security six .357 Mag. loaded with 185gr hollow points, flashed it at them. The group vanished and I was able to drive out of the neighborhood with only minor dents to my car.

    • Perfect! You proved my often stated point that a gun doesn’t kill people, but COULD. And you have a dented car with no bullet holes to prove that point.

  36. Guns don’t kill people; criminals kill people or get killed by responsible gun owners when the criminal is in the wrong place at the wrong time acting the wrong way.

    Something in the word “wrong” confuses the liberals.

          • Good man! You have now earned one “Attaboy” award. Just remember that 1,000 “Attaboy” entitles you to the admiration of society, respect of your fellow man, and you’ll have to come up with the cost of a cup of coffee on your own. And, like any politician knows, one “Awshit” demerit wipes out all “Attaboy” awards and you have to start all over. Don’t keep your smile, award it to someone deserving.

  37. I have defended myself twice as a civilian and numerous times as a cop with a firearm. I also know too many friends and coworkers who defended themselves with a firearm. Of course, none of those stories ever make the news.

  38. Gun Free Zones = Perfect targets for criminals wanting to do harm where they are assured that no one will be armed and able to do anything to the armed felon committing the crime. Gun Control = using both hands and aiming for the target (criminal). An armed citizenry = less crime and victims of crimes.

  39. In 1976 my Mother was murdered in her little shop by a guy who robbed and beat her to death, hitting her 17 times in the face with a crow bar. He is us again for the 18th time for parole. We should outlaw crow bars, Ya think!

  40. ZERO – and I am 65, served in Vietnam, have relatives that are in the military and police and have always owned guns, used guns and almost everyone I know owns at least one gun. I am sure there are just a handful of people in the US who even know anyone who has been killed by gun violence. Now, killed by cars – we all know many folks who died in car accidents! And many of our friends were killed performing service for our President in far off countries. But gun violence at home, not any that I am aware of.

  41. The area one resides in would dictate the answer, rural, suburbs or urban, i am sure have fluctuation in answers. All i would say is if you do not carry and the planets align and you are at the wrong place at the wrong time you will not be able to reverse time but with a weapon time could be on your side!

  42. Isn’t it ironic that we are having many more shootings since the attempt to take our guns????????? Then the Senators (like Feinstein) cry harder for the confiscation. Light bulb!

  43. i must lead a very sheltered or Blessed life… to date I don’t personally know of anyone shot in an act of “gun Violence” “0” ZERO NADA….not one person……… Now ask me how many people I know that own guns? In my 53 years on this earth hundreds of people…… including myself….. to date none of the guns owned by myself or the people I know have committed one act of “gun violence” infact none of the people I know have acted irresponsibly and allowed their guns out on their own…. so our guns are supervised and well behaved……

  44. I wish someone would create a website to ask the following questions:
    How many people do you know who have been killed or injured by gun violence?

    How many people do you know who have been protected by a gun?
    How many people have you seen killed or injured on TV by a gun?
    I think the numbers will speak for themselves as to where the violence and the teaching of violence is coming.

  45. More gun control equals more violence. This is proven over and over. The most violent countries are the ones where Socialists have outlawed guns. This of course is not the reason the unconstitutional government wants gun control.

  46. For the Post – My gun number is “1.” It is located between my index and ring fingers and is reserved for people like you.

  47. I filled out their form. They asked how gun violence had affected my life, and I told them about an violent encounter with four thieves stealing the battery out of my car after I had just got back from a tour in the jungles of Southeast Asia. No one died, but my bet is that none of those young men ever entered a carport again at night intent on burglary. I’m confident in that opinion, because the one I got ahold of peed his pants as I imparted some old Gaelic wisdom for him to consider as his life unfolded.
    There is a balance between force and reason.

  48. My number: hundreds of thousands, deaths by doctor that is. The medical industry kills 200,000 yearly, by their OWN numbers. They killed my stepson. Guns are not the problem – a medical industry running amok and with no accountability is the problem.

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