Really? Why do you think that? How do you assess my need?
I see. It's business that you do not like.
Fear? I have not seen that. Nor have I seen much in the way of the kind of "misinformation" to which you are referring.
Okay.
Not I. My shield EZ holds 8, and I've seen nothing from "the gun industry" about its viability.
That's fine by me.
How do you decide when to do so?
What data?
Those data mean little or nothing to today's citizens. Why are you so hung up on data from yesteryear?
And one more time, do not rely upon averages for risk assessment or risk management--or for anything else in the way of personal decision-making.
I did not calculate any version of a statistical average. That is time-series analysis of the homicide rate (which is derived by direct calculation). But averages certainly can inform decision-making. In fact, they very much should if the variance of the sample is low. Who told you not to use averages in decision making? You just need to know how representative of your sample the average is. You certainly shouldn't be making decisions based on extremely rare statistical outliers. How many times a year do you want a colonoscopy?
Past data not useful? How else do you know not to grab a hot frying pan - by having access to past data (yours or someone else's). In this case, the past data on homicides are very informative as to your relative risk. Today, the homicide rate is about half what it was in the 80s, so as long as we think we understand how we survived in that time period, we have a decent idea of what would suffice today. Especially since the risk today is much less than in the past.
My point is that we can use real information to make our risk assessments - I am more likely to carry when in higher-crime neighborhoods (based on my casual examination of crime maps). We shouldn't be relying on information from businesses that have a vested interest in our making poorly informed decisions. And if someone wants to make an argument about risk increasing 'these days', then I need to see something more than a company shill shouting 'fire'.
I will leave this post with this image that communicates, I think, pretty well what I am talking about (since you say you are unfamiliar with this kind of ‘misinformation’):