The data presented indicate that private handgun ownership provides no significant deterrent to burglary and violent crime. It may, in fact, escalate the severity of the violence if offenders believe they must be more heavily armed than the citizenry. The use of a weapon in resistance to a criminal attack usually results in a greater probability of bodily injury or death to the victim. While armed individual citizens occasionally thwart a criminal offense, they represent a minority of victims. Handgun ownership raises the risks of escalating the violence of the crime, of accidents and suicides among family members, and, finally, of gross harm or death for the citizens. 70 notes and appendix