The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has restored firearm-related data to its website that estimates up to 2.5 million defensive gun uses occur each year in the United States. The figures, which had been removed from the agency’s website in 2022, reappeared on the CDC’s “About Firearm Injury and Death” page as of late August 2026, according to a report from Breitbart News.
The CDC’s updated page includes a section titled “Defensive Gun Use” that states: “Estimates of defensive gun use vary depending on the questions asked, populations studied, timeframe, and other factors related to study design. 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.”
That range — drawn from a 2013 National Research Council report — has been a frequent citation in debates over gun policy. The upper bound of 2.5 million has long been highlighted by Second Amendment advocates as evidence that firearms are commonly used for self-defense, while gun control groups have often pointed to the lower end of the range and questioned the accuracy of such estimates.
The data’s return marks a shift from the previous administration’s handling of the information. According to Breitbart, the CDC deleted the defensive gun use figures in 2022, and at the time, FOX News reported that the removal occurred after gun control activists pressured the agency. The decision drew criticism from gun rights organizations, who argued that the deletion was politically motivated and that the public had a right to see the full picture of firearm use in America.
Now, with the data back online, the reaction has been split along familiar lines.
Gun Control Groups Cry Foul
The Trace, a nonprofit news outlet that covers gun violence and is itself funded by gun control advocates, expressed dismay at the CDC’s decision to repost the defensive gun use numbers. In a recent article, The Trace claimed that the inclusion of the figures “reflects the Trump administration’s staunch Second Amendment advocacy, putting the president in lockstep with a gun lobby that’s long promoted the idea that a ‘good guy with a gun’ is the only thing that can stop a ‘bad guy with a gun.’”
The Trace also pointed to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA) in an attempt to counter the CDC’s defensive gun use estimates. GVA, a nonprofit that tracks gun-related incidents, has been widely cited by media outlets in recent years for its statistics on mass shootings, which have often been used to support calls for stricter gun control. Breitbart notes that outlets that have claimed 600 or more mass shootings per year have leaned on GVA data as well, suggesting a pattern of relying on that source when it suits a particular narrative.
Supporters of the CDC’s decision argue that including defensive gun use data provides a more complete picture of how firearms are used in the country, beyond just statistics on injuries and deaths. They contend that the federal government’s role in publishing objective data should not be filtered through a political lens.
Defensive Gun Use: A Long-Standing Debate
The debate over defensive gun use is hardly new. Researchers have produced a wide range of estimates for decades, depending heavily on survey methodology. The 60,000 to 2.5 million range cited by the CDC comes from a 2013 National Research Council report that reviewed existing studies and concluded that the true number was impossible to pin down with precision.
Proponents of gun rights often point to surveys that yield higher numbers, such as those that ask respondents whether they have used a firearm in self-defense in the past year. Critics argue that such self-reported surveys can be inflated by respondents who misunderstand what constitutes defensive use, or who may exaggerate confrontations as justifiable.
Regardless, the CDC’s decision to repost the data is sure to reignite a familiar political battle. Gun control advocates have repeatedly called on federal agencies to focus on the public health burden of firearms, which includes suicides and homicides that number in the tens of thousands each year. They see the inclusion of defensive gun use numbers as a way to bolster the case for less regulation, not more.
On the other side, gun rights advocates view the restoration as a step toward transparency and an acknowledgment that defensive gun use is a legitimate and frequent occurrence. For many, the 2.5 million figure is a powerful talking point — a number that suggests that firearms are used far more often to protect lives than to take them.
Breitbart’s report, written by AWR Hawkins, a Second Amendment columnist and PhD in military history, frames the CDC’s move as a victory for gun owners and a repudiation of what he describes as gun control pressure. The article also notes that the CDC’s page now lists the report as a key reference, alongside other firearm-related data.
What’s Next?
The CDC itself has not issued a formal statement explaining why the defensive gun use data was reposted, but the timing and context suggest a deliberate shift in the agency’s approach under the current administration.
Whether the data remains online will likely depend on the political climate. The 2022 deletion was widely reported as a response to pressure from gun control groups, and it is plausible that the 2026 restoration is, at least in part, a response to pressure from gun rights groups.
For now, the information is available to the public, and it will likely be cited in the ongoing debate over the Second Amendment, gun violence, and public safety. Researchers, policymakers, and activists on both sides will continue to interpret the numbers through their own lenses, but the CDC’s decision to put the figures back in the public domain ensures that the discussion remains grounded in a federal resource that is often seen as authoritative.
As the nation heads into another election cycle, the reappearance of these statistics may become a flashpoint in the broader cultural and political war over guns. Supporters of gun rights will point to the 2.5 million figure as proof that firearms are an everyday tool of self-defense. Opponents will likely argue that the CDC is being used as a propaganda arm for the gun lobby.
Either way, the data is back, and the debate is, once again, fully loaded.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/2nd-amendment/2026/08/24/cdc-upwards-of-2-5-million-defensive-gun-uses-per-year/