Harvard Injury Control Research Center – includes the following:

May 1, 2015  Self-defense gun use article – “Data come from the National Crime Victimization Survey 2007-2011.  Self-defense gun use occurred in fewer than 1% of all contact crimes reported.  Males and rural dwellers were most likely to use a gun in self-defense.  Self-defense gun use was not associated with a reduced risk of victim injury.  Self-defense with any weapon was associated with a reduced risk of property loss.  Hemenway D, Solnick SJ. The epidemiology of self-defense gun use: evidence from the National Crime Victimization Surveys 2007-2011. Preventive Medicine (available on-line).  In August 2015 the LA Times published an op-ed by David Hemenway discussing these results.”

See also on this site – the resource on Homicide: “Our review of the academic literature found that a broad array of evidence indicates that gun availability is a risk factor for homicide, both in the United States and across high-income countries.  Case-control studies, ecological time-series and cross-sectional studies indicate that in homes, cities, states and regions in the US, where there are more guns, both men and women are at higher risk for homicide, particularly firearm homicide.”

And via The New Yorker – The Simple Truth About Gun Control by Adam Gopnik – “…Gun control is not a panacea, any more than penicillin was. Some violence will always go on. What gun control is good at is controlling guns. Gun control will eliminate gun massacres in America as surely as antibiotics eliminate bacterial infections.”