Below are the homicide figures for 1992 according to the FBI Uniform
Crime Reports and Bureau of Justice Statistics.  (Note that they DO NOT
distinguish between MURDER and SELF-DEFENSE...all are lumped together)

Total Homicides in 1992:         22,540  ....  9 per 100 THOUSAND
Homicides by firearms:           15,377  ....  6 per 100 THOUSAND
Homicides by clubs/knives etc:    7,163  ....  3 per 100 THOUSAND

(BTW, deaths in automobile accidents were 17.4 per 100 thousand the
same year.  You were about twice as likely to die in a car wreck as
by a firearm.)

Other interesting stats:
Blacks comprise 12% of the US population and committed 49.6% of the
homicides...(11,175; which equals 36 killers per 100,000 Blacks)

Whites comprise 83% of the US population and committed 47.2% of the
homicides...(10,647; which equals 5.5 killers per 100,000 Whites)

Other minorities comprise 5% of the population and committed 3.2% of the
homicides...(718; which equals 5.7 killers per 100,000 others)