"The academic debate over gun control consists mainly of a war of statistics.
...How should untrained laypersons go about interpreting the findings of statistical studies?
- It’s About Resistance, Not Prevention
Statistics come in all shapes and sizes, so the first thing we need to do is determine which kinds of statistics are relevant to the gun control debate and which are irrelevant.
...To illustrate the difference, let’s suppose that I encounter a mugger while taking a walk.
To do this, we need a clear understanding of what the gun control debate is fundamentally about.
We can’t separate the relevant from the irrelevant if we aren’t clear about how to frame the issue.
So, what is the debate over gun ownership fundamentally about?
Many seem to think that it’s about deterrence; that is, whether gun ownership prevents crime. 
...To illustrate the difference, let’s suppose that I encounter a mugger while taking a walk.
I brandish my firearm to the mugger, who is undeterred and rushes me with a knife.
I then shoot the mugger, stopping the crime.
In that situation, my gun has failed to prevent a crime, but it was successful at resisting a crime.
The gun was an effective and reasonable means of self-defense even though it failed to deter the would-be mugger.
This is a very crucial point that must be carefully appreciated.
Even if guns don't prevent crime by reducing the overall crime rate, it wouldn’t mean that guns are not a reasonable means of resisting crime.
As far as gun rights are concerned, the single most important issue is simply the question of whether guns do a good job when deployed against a criminal assailant.
Deterrence is not the key issue at stake..."
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