But even after years of study, there is little clarify on how, exactly, Americans use guns to protect themselves in a moment of jeopardy–or how often. Geller then goes on to explain that with dropping violent crime rates, the need for having a gun in the first place may be gone anyway. He cites Florida State University criminologist Gary Kleck’s contention that crime has dropped because more and more people have chosen to arm themselves. With crime down, Kleck says armed citizens have gone from using guns for self-defense approximately 2.5 million times a year 20 years ago to approximately 1.25 million times a year now.

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