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.”
Blue state mayor arrested for fraud sparks uproar for not speaking English in viral clip: ‘How is this real’
Socialists accused of ‘motor mouth’ rhetoric as longtime Dem strategist unloads on far-left candidate
Sammy ‘The Bull’ Gravano recounts turning on John Gotti
Tragedy Deepens as Hayden Panettiere Dad’s Friends Reveal He Was Only Just Beginning to Recover from Losing Son
Cop Fired After Allegedly Using Flock Cameras to Stalk Former Boyfriend – She Abused System 166 Times
Andy Burnham insists ‘zero consequence’ from falling for Susie Wiles impersonator as ministers’ phone numbers appear online
Appeals court upholds limits on warrantless ICE arrests at churches
Antisemitism fight explodes in Florida as voters head to the polls: ‘Political pogrom’
Lindsay Clancy’s family was ‘very concerned’ about her mental health in the months before she killed her kids
White House tears into Ossoff with brutal takedown after jab at key Trump aide: ‘Lightweight loser’
WNBA Forced to Issue Another Humiliating Response After Mom, Daughter Made to Cover Pro-Girl Shirts Opposing Trans Players in Women’s Sports
ICE Nabs Twice-Deported, Previously Convicted Drug Trafficker with 126 Kilos of Meth in Georgia
Iran fails to strike deal with US as deadline passes and Trump calls for ‘white flag of surrender’
Democrat Party’s civil war heads to Florida, Alaska and Wyoming and more top headlines
[4] Massachusetts Mayor Charged in Alleged $1.5 Million Pandemic-Era Loan Fraud And Money Laundering Scheme
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.
Blue state mayor arrested for fraud sparks uproar for not speaking English in viral clip: ‘How is this real’
Socialists accused of ‘motor mouth’ rhetoric as longtime Dem strategist unloads on far-left candidate
Sammy ‘The Bull’ Gravano recounts turning on John Gotti
Tragedy Deepens as Hayden Panettiere Dad’s Friends Reveal He Was Only Just Beginning to Recover from Losing Son
Cop Fired After Allegedly Using Flock Cameras to Stalk Former Boyfriend – She Abused System 166 Times
Andy Burnham insists ‘zero consequence’ from falling for Susie Wiles impersonator as ministers’ phone numbers appear online
Appeals court upholds limits on warrantless ICE arrests at churches
Antisemitism fight explodes in Florida as voters head to the polls: ‘Political pogrom’
Lindsay Clancy’s family was ‘very concerned’ about her mental health in the months before she killed her kids
White House tears into Ossoff with brutal takedown after jab at key Trump aide: ‘Lightweight loser’
WNBA Forced to Issue Another Humiliating Response After Mom, Daughter Made to Cover Pro-Girl Shirts Opposing Trans Players in Women’s Sports
ICE Nabs Twice-Deported, Previously Convicted Drug Trafficker with 126 Kilos of Meth in Georgia
Iran fails to strike deal with US as deadline passes and Trump calls for ‘white flag of surrender’
Democrat Party’s civil war heads to Florida, Alaska and Wyoming and more top headlines
[4] Massachusetts Mayor Charged in Alleged $1.5 Million Pandemic-Era Loan Fraud And Money Laundering Scheme
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.
