Multilevel analyses of the data from 26 developed countries indicate that owners of a handgun have an increased risk for violent victimization compared to people who do not own guns; however, high gun ownership in a country apparently diminishes the victimization level for less serious violent crime against those who do not own guns. Across regions of the United States, more homicides are committed whether there are more guns, controlling for other relevant factors (Miller et al., 2004). This result was confirmed by Felson and Pare (2010). Felson and Pare also found that gun availability per State is unrelated to rates of common assault. The divergence between comparatively high levels of homicide and comparatively low rates of common assaults is especially striking in the southern States. The authors of the current study suggest that the near universal presence of firearms in the south may discourage confrontation in assaults out of fear of armed adversaries. The ICVS asks respondents whether a firearm is present in the house and, if so, what type of firearm. Analyses have consistently shown that the availability of long guns (rifles and shotguns) has no relationship with levels of victimization by any type of crime at either collective or individual levels, since most of these guns are used for hunting. Future studies on the gun-violence link should be restricted to data on handgun ownership and perhaps assault rifles at the individual level. Future studies should also make more detailed distinctions between the various types of violence and the circumstances under which they are committed. 8 tables, 2 figures, and 36 references