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.”
Mamdani says NYC is exploring whether it can arrest Netanyahu if Israeli leader visits for UN General Assembly
Liberal circuit judge blasts SCOTUS conservatives, says Hawaii will defy high court
Rubio Goes Viral as Millions Watch, Share His Rousing Speech on the Evils of the Modern Left
Caitlin Clark Sets Scoring Record with Monster 45-Point Game in Comeback Win
Tough But Moral: How Israel Phoned a Terrorist and Offered to Kill Him Without Touching His Family… and He Took the Deal
Breaking: Two US Service Members Killed in Iranian Strike on Air Base
Stephen Miller says Trump administration is pursuing policy to debank illegal immigrants
New Yorkers collected $2.6 billion in welfare cash payments last year, city data shows
Dave Portnoy Shocked by People Who Fled ‘Countries That Are Disasters’ Spreading Socialism Across US
Two US service members killed in Iranian strikes on Jordan, CENTCOM says
Maine Dem Opens Fundraising Pitch By Saying ICE Shooting Caused Her to Freeze Up During Debate
Kentucky governor says he received 2 calls from agencies indicating McConnell had ‘passed’
Far-left activist conference at teachers union HQ raises classroom concerns
California man admits targeting 3 Subway restaurants for robberies in less than a week, FBI says
Pratt takes Walz to task in scathing X post over pardoned child rapist: ‘Have your hard drives checked’
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.
Mamdani says NYC is exploring whether it can arrest Netanyahu if Israeli leader visits for UN General Assembly
Liberal circuit judge blasts SCOTUS conservatives, says Hawaii will defy high court
Rubio Goes Viral as Millions Watch, Share His Rousing Speech on the Evils of the Modern Left
Caitlin Clark Sets Scoring Record with Monster 45-Point Game in Comeback Win
Tough But Moral: How Israel Phoned a Terrorist and Offered to Kill Him Without Touching His Family… and He Took the Deal
Breaking: Two US Service Members Killed in Iranian Strike on Air Base
Stephen Miller says Trump administration is pursuing policy to debank illegal immigrants
New Yorkers collected $2.6 billion in welfare cash payments last year, city data shows
Dave Portnoy Shocked by People Who Fled ‘Countries That Are Disasters’ Spreading Socialism Across US
Two US service members killed in Iranian strikes on Jordan, CENTCOM says
Maine Dem Opens Fundraising Pitch By Saying ICE Shooting Caused Her to Freeze Up During Debate
Kentucky governor says he received 2 calls from agencies indicating McConnell had ‘passed’
Far-left activist conference at teachers union HQ raises classroom concerns
California man admits targeting 3 Subway restaurants for robberies in less than a week, FBI says
Pratt takes Walz to task in scathing X post over pardoned child rapist: ‘Have your hard drives checked’
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.
