Research indicates that between 1,527 and 2,819 self- defense homicides occur yearly and that people defend themselves with firearms as often as 2.4 million times a year. Since firearms are used in about 32,000 deaths a year (murders, suicides, and accidents), the numbers show that firearms may save as many as 75 lives for every life lost to a gun. This translates into lives saved, injuries prevented, medical costs saved, and property protected. Guns save more lives and prevent more injuries than they cause at a ratio of 15:1. The corollary is that medical costs saved by firearms are 15 times greater than costs incurred by guns. In addition, firearms have been shown to deter crime and citizens have a constitutional right to own and carry firearms and should not be prevented from defending themselves. The author reaches several conclusions: citizens need firearms because police agencies are not private security forces; gun control is ineffective, jeopardizes the safety of innocent people, and leads to higher health care costs; and society needs to address the real problem which is the criminal mentality. 31 references