Firearms; Vital Tools for Self Defense or Deadly Killers? There are presently in excess of 200 million guns in the United States, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Each year this number grows by 4 to 5 million. There are 60 to 65 million legal owners of one or more guns.1 There is a firearm on the premises of more than half the households in America. Most of them keep guns for protection. The others keep them for hunting, target shooting, collecting, and similar pursuits. In recent years nearly 35,000 people have been killed annually by guns in the United States. These deaths include 15,000 murders, 18,000