
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has accused the FBI, CDC and legacy media of conspiring to hide data that shows how often citizens use firearms to defend themselves and stop mass shootings. Massie referenced an article by Dr. John R. Lott Jr., which claims that these institutions have suppressed key statistics to push a gun control agenda.
According to Lott, the CDC removed its estimates of defensive gun use from its website after a 2013 report by the National Academies of Sciences. This report showed that citizens use guns defensively anywhere from 64,000 to 3 million times annually. Lott claims that a gun control group successfully lobbied the CDC to remove this data because it was being used to argue against stricter gun laws.
The article also criticizes how the FBI defines “active shooter” incidents. Lott argues that the FBI’s broad definition results in underreporting of cases where armed citizens stop attackers. The FBI claims that armed civilians only intervened in 14 out of 350 active shooter cases between 2014 and 2023, but Lott’s own research found that civilians stopped shooters in 180 out of 515 cases.
As gun control discussions intensify ahead of the 2024 election, Massie warns that the suppression of data on defensive gun use could lead to flawed policies. He emphasizes that the Second Amendment is crucial for allowing Americans to defend themselves.