Philip Cook, professor emeritus of public policy studies at Duke University and co-author of the Justice Department’s research article, said he was confident "that there were not 1.5 million lives saved in 1994 through defensive gun uses." The latest survey of gun owners and their use of firearms estimated that in 2021, guns were used 1.67 million times to protect people or property. Biggs said that the Justice Department "conservatively estimated that guns are used 1.5 million times per year to save lives."