Another one that probably won't make the stats

Whenever a new state gets ready to join the ever-increasing group of enlightened ones that have changed their laws to authorize "shall issue" handgun carry permits by law-abiding citizens, the Brady Campaign, the Violence Policy Center and other such groups always bleat about how there's not an overwhelmingly large number of defensive gun uses by permit holders.

(By the way, Ms. Brady - If "shall issue" laws are such a bad idea, how come not one of the 37 states that currently have this mode of issuance has ever repealed it? If crimes committed by permit holders were a problem, you can rest assured that at least one out of the 37 would have gotten rid if it, but that is not the case. Every state has seen crime rates by permit holders that are smaller by huge orders of magnitude than the crime rates of the general population.)

While it's true that the actual firing of a handgun by a permit holder is thankfully rare, the Brady bunch never fails to forget to include the number of times a year a crime is averted because the permit holder simply draws his or her firearm, or lets it be known some other way that they are carrying a firearm and are willing to use it. This is arguably an even better outcome for the permit holder than shooting a robber, as serious legal and emotional tolls are avoided. Admittedly, not all of these non-discharge uses are reported, but they are aborted crimes all the same, and should be marked in the "success" category. Even non-permit holders benefit from having law-abiding permit holders in the general population, as your typical mugger will have no idea who is carrying and who isn't, making them much less likely to just grab someone at random. This is another advantage that won't be counted in the statistics, but it's there all the same.

Here's another story that probably won't be counted as a successful defensive use of a firearm, but it should be.

A pharmacy in Utah was robbed by a person who demanded Oxycontin. The pharmacist drew his legally owned handgun and foiled the robbery.

Previous to this incident, the small, family-owned pharmacy had been robbed 20 times.

"The Dunn's will do this again because they don't want to get robbed again. They hope word gets out to leave their pharmacy alone."

Oh, I think the word will get out in the felon community, all right. I think it's highly unlikely that the Dunns will be bothered anymore, as criminals there will move on to easier pickings.