The article presents evidence that millions of Americans own firearms for self-defense reasons; defensive gun ownership increases concomitantly with fear of crime and other factors related to collective security. Some studies show that guns are rarely used to kill criminals, but are used much more often in criminal homicides involving family members and acquaintances, and suicides. The author concludes that, even if the existing evidence proved that the risk of gun ownership outweighs its benefits, there would be little impact on gun ownership, as many Americans are attracted by the potential protection afforded by firearms. 1 figure, 3 tables, and 31 notes