Gun Control & RKBA

From the footnotes of the chart you cite:

So why is there a 50% variance in these numbers and why do I trust GVA above Crime Victims survey? Both have the same answer: the source of the information. The Crime Victims survey relys on the statement of the victim without any other verification. There is no control for false positive reporting--the same issue Kleck had in his survey. The GVA on the other hand is based on verifiable incidents reported (and verified) in news sources. The GVA is undoubtedly low. possibly by a number comparable to the Crime Victim Survey. However it is based on actual verifiable sources.

Crime victims who are gun owners and gun owners in general have a vested interest in inflating the DGU numbers. That makes them a very unreliable source for information that isn't supported by other verifiable sources. Kleck surveyed a phone list and asked, "Have you used a gun is self defense in the last year?" Besides the bias cited above there's the issue of telescoping--assuming the incident did happen was it 18 months ago instead of 12? You know what they say about time flying.

The truth of the matter is we don't know how many DGUs there are and we won't until the gun lobby is defeated and we get honest, scientific and verifiable research.