A homeowner who used a handgun to
apprehend a burglar have spoken out about the importance of allowing
Americans to keep guns for self-defence.
Last month, a would-be thief broke in to Eric Martin's home in St George, Utah - leading the 46-year-old to fear for his life and those of his fiancée and her daughter.
But thanks to the 9mm pistol he keeps by his bed, he was able to confront the intruder and keep him there until police arrived.
As the debate swirls around new gun control measures in the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre, many activists are pointing to cases like that of Mr Martin to show that the vast majority of weaponry is intended for entirely legitimate ends.
The executive was in bed with
his fiancée Rachel Cieslewicz during the pre-dawn break-in, with her
eight-year-old son Canyon asleep across the hall.
Mr Martin, who has been trained to use a gun for more than two decades, took his gun from the nightstand drawer - but knew he could not fire at the burglar for fear of hurting Canyon.
In addition, he had no idea if the man had an accomplice waiting outside who could back him up.
'I knew I needed to protect Rachel. I knew I needed to protect Canyon,' he said.
When Mr Martin pulled back on the gun's slide to load a bullet into the chamber, the man in the doorway bolted and the homeowner gave chase. Seconds later they were outside, but as the robber tried to escape, he tripped and fell.
Mr Martin, crouching behind a wall, trained his gun on him and ordered him to stay down, threatening to shoot when the man moved, and the pair remained in that position until police arrived.
Ms Cieslewicz paid tribute to
her fiancé as she recalled her fears for her son during the break-in,
saying: 'It was an absolute moment of terror.'
Dozens of police officers and others have congratulated Mr Martin's cool-headed reaction to the burglary - but he is aware that things could easily have gone wrong.
'What would have happened if the guy hadn't fallen, tripped over the stuff he was stealing, and I hadn't gotten him pinned down?' he said.
Mr Martin added that if the man had run away, he might have opened fire, saying: 'Is that self-defence or is that me just trying to let off a little bit of steam at that point? That changes the whole dynamic of everything.'
In the weeks since the Connecticut school shooting, some of the most intense debate has swirled around how to keep guns from criminals without infringing on the ability of lawful gun owners, like Mr Martin, to protect themselves and their families.
Indeed, protection is now the top reason gun owners cite for having a firearm, a new survey shows.
But even after years of study,
it is unclear how exactly Americans use guns to protect themselves in
moments of jeopardy - or how often.
'When there's a threat outside your door, the police aren't going to be there... the guys trained to save lives aren't going to be there,' said Dom Raso, a commentator for the National Rifle Association.
And even while calling for new gun laws, Barack Obama acknowledged the legitimacy of self-defense in a speech in Hartford, Connecticut, when he recounted a conversation with his wife Michelle after campaigning in rural Iowa.
'Sometimes it would be miles between farms, let alone towns,' Mr Obama said. 'And she said, "You know, coming back, I can understand why somebody would want a gun for protection. If somebody drove up into the driveway and, Barack, you weren't home, the sheriff lived miles away, I might want that security."'
With Americans split over whether guns more often save lives or jeopardise them, researchers have studied surveys of crime victims done in the 1990s, arguing over what the numbers mean.
But since then, crime has plummeted in the U.S. The rate of violent crimes including murder and assault fell by nearly half from 1992 to 2011, while the rate of reported property crime dropped 41 per cent.
That drop has researchers considering the possibility that many fewer Americans are drawing firearms to protect themselves.
'I'm pretty confident that whatever the number is, it did go down... because overall crime went down,' said Gary Kleck, a Florida State University criminologist whose 1990s research concluded that Americans drew their firearms in self-defense up to 2.5million times a year.
The drop in crime means there are far fewer occasions now for Americans to use guns for self-protection, Mr Kleck said, making it likely that the number of annual self-defense usages of guns 'should be about half as big now as they were back then, 20 years ago.'
But David Hemenway, director of the Harvard University Injury Control Research Center, claims the survey vastly overinflates the number of times people use guns to defend themselves.
Mr Hemenway, also relying on 1990s surveys, concluded Americans were then wielding guns for self-defence about 200,000 times annually.
Other researchers, analysing the federal government's National Crime Victimization Survey, say the number of times guns were drawn for self-defence was even lower, about 80,000 times a year.
However, other trends may be
boosting gun use. Since the 1990s, 18 states have passed
stand-your-ground laws. At the same time, many more states eased the
ability of gun owners to legally carry concealed weapons.
The number of guns Americans own has also jumped to about 300million, although researchers say the percentage of households with guns has declined.
Today, more gun owners than ever - 48 per cent according to a March poll by the Pew Research Center - cite self-protection as their primary reason for having a firearm. That has nearly doubled since 1999, and now far surpasses the number of gun owners who say they own a firearm primarily for hunting.
The figure confirms personal security as a major concern for most Americans, reflected in attitudes about guns, said Michael Dimock, director of Pew's political polling unit.
'On both sides of this, the safety issue is front and centre,' he said. 'For most people, this is not a casual choice. There's a sense of safety that gun owners associate with having that gun and there's a clear sense of risk that non-gun owners associate with guns.'
Last month, a would-be thief broke in to Eric Martin's home in St George, Utah - leading the 46-year-old to fear for his life and those of his fiancée and her daughter.
But thanks to the 9mm pistol he keeps by his bed, he was able to confront the intruder and keep him there until police arrived.
As the debate swirls around new gun control measures in the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre, many activists are pointing to cases like that of Mr Martin to show that the vast majority of weaponry is intended for entirely legitimate ends.
Defence: Eric Martin with his fiancée Rachel
Cieslewicz at their home in St George, Utah, which was attacked by a
burglar last month
Mr Martin, who has been trained to use a gun for more than two decades, took his gun from the nightstand drawer - but knew he could not fire at the burglar for fear of hurting Canyon.
In addition, he had no idea if the man had an accomplice waiting outside who could back him up.
'I knew I needed to protect Rachel. I knew I needed to protect Canyon,' he said.
When Mr Martin pulled back on the gun's slide to load a bullet into the chamber, the man in the doorway bolted and the homeowner gave chase. Seconds later they were outside, but as the robber tried to escape, he tripped and fell.
Mr Martin, crouching behind a wall, trained his gun on him and ordered him to stay down, threatening to shoot when the man moved, and the pair remained in that position until police arrived.
Bedroom: The 46-year-old with the handgun he keeps in his nightstand and used to subdue the burglar
Dozens of police officers and others have congratulated Mr Martin's cool-headed reaction to the burglary - but he is aware that things could easily have gone wrong.
'What would have happened if the guy hadn't fallen, tripped over the stuff he was stealing, and I hadn't gotten him pinned down?' he said.
Mr Martin added that if the man had run away, he might have opened fire, saying: 'Is that self-defence or is that me just trying to let off a little bit of steam at that point? That changes the whole dynamic of everything.'
In the weeks since the Connecticut school shooting, some of the most intense debate has swirled around how to keep guns from criminals without infringing on the ability of lawful gun owners, like Mr Martin, to protect themselves and their families.
Indeed, protection is now the top reason gun owners cite for having a firearm, a new survey shows.
Fears: Mr Martin was desperate to protect Ms Cieslewicz and her eight-year-old son Canyon
'When there's a threat outside your door, the police aren't going to be there... the guys trained to save lives aren't going to be there,' said Dom Raso, a commentator for the National Rifle Association.
And even while calling for new gun laws, Barack Obama acknowledged the legitimacy of self-defense in a speech in Hartford, Connecticut, when he recounted a conversation with his wife Michelle after campaigning in rural Iowa.
'Sometimes it would be miles between farms, let alone towns,' Mr Obama said. 'And she said, "You know, coming back, I can understand why somebody would want a gun for protection. If somebody drove up into the driveway and, Barack, you weren't home, the sheriff lived miles away, I might want that security."'
With Americans split over whether guns more often save lives or jeopardise them, researchers have studied surveys of crime victims done in the 1990s, arguing over what the numbers mean.
But since then, crime has plummeted in the U.S. The rate of violent crimes including murder and assault fell by nearly half from 1992 to 2011, while the rate of reported property crime dropped 41 per cent.
Chased down: Mr Martin was able to hold the intruder captive until police arrived on the scene
'I'm pretty confident that whatever the number is, it did go down... because overall crime went down,' said Gary Kleck, a Florida State University criminologist whose 1990s research concluded that Americans drew their firearms in self-defense up to 2.5million times a year.
The drop in crime means there are far fewer occasions now for Americans to use guns for self-protection, Mr Kleck said, making it likely that the number of annual self-defense usages of guns 'should be about half as big now as they were back then, 20 years ago.'
But David Hemenway, director of the Harvard University Injury Control Research Center, claims the survey vastly overinflates the number of times people use guns to defend themselves.
Mr Hemenway, also relying on 1990s surveys, concluded Americans were then wielding guns for self-defence about 200,000 times annually.
Other researchers, analysing the federal government's National Crime Victimization Survey, say the number of times guns were drawn for self-defence was even lower, about 80,000 times a year.
Debate: Barack Obama has admitted that he too understands the motivation behind keeping a gun at home
The number of guns Americans own has also jumped to about 300million, although researchers say the percentage of households with guns has declined.
Today, more gun owners than ever - 48 per cent according to a March poll by the Pew Research Center - cite self-protection as their primary reason for having a firearm. That has nearly doubled since 1999, and now far surpasses the number of gun owners who say they own a firearm primarily for hunting.
The figure confirms personal security as a major concern for most Americans, reflected in attitudes about guns, said Michael Dimock, director of Pew's political polling unit.
'On both sides of this, the safety issue is front and centre,' he said. 'For most people, this is not a casual choice. There's a sense of safety that gun owners associate with having that gun and there's a clear sense of risk that non-gun owners associate with guns.'