The Federal Bureau of Investigation released its Uniform Crime Report for 2018 on Monday, and the numbers indicate that more people were killed by knives than rifles.
The annual report touts an overall drop in violent crime for the second consecutive year, according to the Bureau’s news release on the numbers. However, the numbers specifically on homicides in the United States offer some insight into America’s ongoing gun control debate.
Due to multiple shooting massacres that took place in August, gun control proponents have once again turned their animus toward semi-automatic rifles such as the AR-15. Perhaps the most salient example of this is 2020 Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke’s pledge, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.”
Zelenskyy Holds Closed-Door Meeting with U.S. Senators, Urges Them to Turn Up the Heat on Trump
Breaking: Social Security Administration Cleans Up Records, Correctly Marks Millions as Deceased
Latest US-Ukraine tensions could determine these battleground races
French PM says far-left groups forged ‘insurrectionary plan’ against government
Italy sending hundreds of soldiers into Milan to quell days of violent riots
Bruce Blakeman hammers Dem Gov Hochul, Mamdani over subway safety during NYC campaign ride
Food delivery favorite forced to fork over millions after DOJ alleged discrimination against American workers
South Korea Kidnaps American Christian, Ex-Diplomat Who Dared to Criticize Nation’s President While on US Soil
US Chopper Spots Speed Boat Carrying 4,000 Pounds of Cocaine – Central American Authorities Seize It All
China ties suspected in sprawling California pot operations as GOP urges FBI probe
American who fled US after allegedly killing pregnant wife could return within days with murder charge dropped
Bush family royalty backs Democrat in battle to flip Texas blue
Dashcam video captures small plane crashing on San Jose highway, injuring three on board, including child
Vivek Ramaswamy lags behind Democrat Amy Acton in race to keep Ohio governor seat red
Alberta votes overwhelmingly to remain part of Canada in referendum
However, as has been the case in previous years, the numbers show that rifles in general — including semi-automatics as well as others — only account for a fraction of a percent of the total homicide rate in the United States.
Here’s what the FBI’s 2018 homicide numbers show us:
- Overall, the number of homicides dropped from 15,195 in 2017 to 14,123 in 2018. The overall number of people murdered with guns dropped as well.
- 10,265 were committed with firearms, out of which handguns accounted for 6,603.
- Rifles were used in 297 homicides, shotguns in 235, and “other guns” in 167.
- 2,963 homicides were listed as “firearms, type not stated.”
What does this show us? According to the available information, rifles accounted for just 2.1 percent of total homicides last year — and 2.9 percent of gun homicides.
Zelenskyy Holds Closed-Door Meeting with U.S. Senators, Urges Them to Turn Up the Heat on Trump
Breaking: Social Security Administration Cleans Up Records, Correctly Marks Millions as Deceased
Latest US-Ukraine tensions could determine these battleground races
French PM says far-left groups forged ‘insurrectionary plan’ against government
Italy sending hundreds of soldiers into Milan to quell days of violent riots
Bruce Blakeman hammers Dem Gov Hochul, Mamdani over subway safety during NYC campaign ride
Food delivery favorite forced to fork over millions after DOJ alleged discrimination against American workers
South Korea Kidnaps American Christian, Ex-Diplomat Who Dared to Criticize Nation’s President While on US Soil
US Chopper Spots Speed Boat Carrying 4,000 Pounds of Cocaine – Central American Authorities Seize It All
China ties suspected in sprawling California pot operations as GOP urges FBI probe
American who fled US after allegedly killing pregnant wife could return within days with murder charge dropped
Bush family royalty backs Democrat in battle to flip Texas blue
Dashcam video captures small plane crashing on San Jose highway, injuring three on board, including child
Vivek Ramaswamy lags behind Democrat Amy Acton in race to keep Ohio governor seat red
Alberta votes overwhelmingly to remain part of Canada in referendum
Once again, deaths from knives and “personal weapons” like hands, fists, and feet were higher than the number of homicides committed with rifles. More than five times as many murders were committed with knives (1,515) as with rifles, and more than twice as many people were killed with “personal weapons” (672). Other years included in the FBI report’s table — which spans 2014-2018 — show similar disparities between the same weapon types.
Again, these numbers are just for rifles as a whole. There’s no further breakdown for what kind of action or cosmetic features the rifles had.
But despite the facts, the question of what to do about the AR-15 and other widely used semi-automatic rifles — sometimes referred to as “assault weapons” — will likely remain as one of the main focus points in America’s ongoing debate about guns and the Second Amendment.
Story cited here.
