Violent crime has nosedived in the United States. Murder has plummeted 18% since 2024, and violent crime has dropped 9%, according to the FBI Crime Data Explorer. Say what you want about President Trump, but his decisions have brought about a huge reduction in crime.
By appointing judges to the U.S. Supreme Court, Trump set the stage for millions of Americans to legally carry concealed handguns. Next, Trump, by closing the southern border, blocked criminals and terrorists from entering the country. He followed up by deporting tens of thousands of illegal aliens who had committed serious crimes; murderers and thugs that former President Biden had allowed in.
Thanks to American civilians
The key is having civilians who are armed and can stop crime from happening. Almost all states in the U.S. allow civilians to legally carry concealed handguns. Civilians not only can legally carry concealed, they do so. Many Americans carry defensive firearms daily. Armed citizens are not only able to protect themselves from criminal attack, but they act to stop active shooters as well.
A dramatic example
Consider the courageous young man who stopped an active shooter in a mall in Indiana who suddenly started shooting people, quickly killing three people and injuring several others. Confronted by the violent attack in the food court, a young man, a legally armed citizen, drew his concealed handgun, within just 15 seconds, and stopped the assault from approximately 40 yards away, preventing further loss of life. Local officials and law enforcement alike credited him with saving numerous lives.
Defensive gun uses are not rare
Firearms aren’t for posturing, but for protection. The 2026 survey found that there are 2.2 million defensive gun uses every year, the great majority of which (70.6 percent, or 1.55 million incidents) are not reported to the police. In those encounters, over three quarters of the time, (76.3 percent), no shots were needed to resolve the encounter in the favor of the armed citizen.
Armed citizens not only protect themselves, but they stop active shooters who threaten the public. In the past decade, armed civilians stop at least one third of mass shootings attacks. Outside of gun-free zones, over half of active shooting attacks were stopped by armed citizens in 2025, according to John Lott at the Crime Prevention Research Center.
How many armed citizens are in the U.S.?
Shooting News Weekly reported on the results of the 2026 National Firearms Survey by William English, and like the 2021 version, painting a detailed picture of the American armed citizen.
• 32.7% of U.S. adults (at a minimum) own guns.
• 14.4% of those gun owners say they often carry a defensive firearm.
• Guns are used defensively by firearms owners in approximately 2.2 million incidents per year.
• The 2026 survey showed that no shots were fired in 76.3% of those encounters versus 81.9% of the time in the 2021 survey.
• 50.8% of gun owners surveyed encountered more than one assailant, 32.9% had two and 17.9% had three or more.
A well-regulated militia, indeed. That 14.4 percent, however, means that at any given moment, there are almost 13 million people carrying a legal defensive firearm with them, a figure which absolutely swamps the estimated 750,000 law enforcement officers in the U.S.
Canada, on the other hand …
Violent crime has increased by 34% in Canada since 2015, and homicide has increased by 12%.
Canadian public safety polices are the mirror image of the U.S. Canada is disarming law-abiding firearms owners while the US encourages armed civilians. Not only does Canada have a revolving-door justice system, but Canadian authorities also take an amazingly relaxed approach to immigrants. Shockingly, Canada does not know how many illegals reside in the country.
Carney is sabotaging our public safety. His “catch-and-release” policies leave dangerous criminals on the streets to prey on their neighbours, while he continues Trudeau’s efforts to disarm good citizens by banning and confiscating so-called “assault-style” firearms. Liberals seem to trust violent criminals more than regular Canadians.
The result of these self-sabotaging policies can easily be seen. Crime nosedives in the United States, while it increases in Canada. Oh, Canada.
