CDC fixes website claims after low-balling data of guns used for self-defense

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated its webpage regarding firearm injury on Sept. 29 to correct verbiage that underestimated the frequency with which guns are used for self-defense.

The CDC had restored information regarding studies of the use of firearms for self-defense on its website in August, reversing a 2022 move made during the Biden administration. The updated verbiage on the site provides a new estimate on “defensive gun uses” (DGU), which had previously been skewed by a survey with a low estimate of DGUs that was later found to have problems.

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The site previously used a much lower figure as the low end of the range of estimates on DGUs.

“Estimates of defensive gun use vary depending on the questions asked, populations studied, timeframe, and other factors related to study design,” the CDC previously said on its website, while linking to a report summarizing surveys regarding defensive gun use. “The report Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearm-Related Violence indicates a range of 60,000 to 2.5 million defensive gun uses each year.”

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In 2022, the CDC took down information about the studies during the Biden administration after a lobbying campaign by anti-Second Amendment groups backed by Democratic Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin, according to emails obtained by The Reload. Some advocates claimed that having the report on the CDC’s website made it harder to secure support for gun-control legislation.

Congress in 1996 prohibited the CDC from underwriting advocacy for gun control following studies that claimed guns in the home were more likely to kill people in the home than to be used for self-defense. Pro-Second Amendment groups cited bias against firearms by some of the researchers.

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The CDC came under fire for its efforts to promote censorship during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, America First Legal (AFL) released documents showing the CDC working with Twitter, Facebook and Google to “censor free speech and promote Biden administration propaganda,” the group said.

(*) Full article: https://www.wnd.com/2026/10/cdc-fixes-website-claims-after-low-balling-data/