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.”
Trump admin rips Mamdani, local Dems as activists override gov’t move at NYC monument: ‘Focused on theatrics’
WATCH: Bill O’Reilly Thoroughly Debunk the Frequently Cited ‘Only 14% of Illegals Are Violent’ Argument Leftists Use Against Deportation
Minneapolis prosecutors charge few anti-ICE protesters amid mass unrest
See It: Ultra High-Res Image of Bondi’s Notes Shows Deadly Dirt on Dems She Walked Into Hearing Ready to Use if Necessary
ICE director stands his ground after Swalwell blowup, says Democrats are ‘misleading their constituents’
Fani Willis slams $17 million legal fees demand from Trump and former codefendants
Fetterman bucks Democrats, says party put politics over country in DHS shutdown standoff
Trump DOJ files new lawsuit accusing Harvard of withholding records on race in admissions
Prominent Ex-Obama Lawyer Signed Epstein Emails with ‘xoxo’ Amid Vulgar Jokes
Watch: US Olympian’s 1st-Place Finish Overturned After Judges Review the Tape
New Jersey teacher who slept with students at family bagel shop learns prison sentence
Democrats push ‘unconstitutional power grab’ that could flip GOP seats and more top headlines
DHS shutdown explained: Who works without pay, what happens to airports and disaster response
Trump’s $12B rare earth plan targets China as experts warn US is ‘one crisis away’
Democrats launch Lunar New Year ad blitz to counter Trump inroads with Asian Americans
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.
Trump admin rips Mamdani, local Dems as activists override gov’t move at NYC monument: ‘Focused on theatrics’
WATCH: Bill O’Reilly Thoroughly Debunk the Frequently Cited ‘Only 14% of Illegals Are Violent’ Argument Leftists Use Against Deportation
Minneapolis prosecutors charge few anti-ICE protesters amid mass unrest
See It: Ultra High-Res Image of Bondi’s Notes Shows Deadly Dirt on Dems She Walked Into Hearing Ready to Use if Necessary
ICE director stands his ground after Swalwell blowup, says Democrats are ‘misleading their constituents’
Fani Willis slams $17 million legal fees demand from Trump and former codefendants
Fetterman bucks Democrats, says party put politics over country in DHS shutdown standoff
Trump DOJ files new lawsuit accusing Harvard of withholding records on race in admissions
Prominent Ex-Obama Lawyer Signed Epstein Emails with ‘xoxo’ Amid Vulgar Jokes
Watch: US Olympian’s 1st-Place Finish Overturned After Judges Review the Tape
New Jersey teacher who slept with students at family bagel shop learns prison sentence
Democrats push ‘unconstitutional power grab’ that could flip GOP seats and more top headlines
DHS shutdown explained: Who works without pay, what happens to airports and disaster response
Trump’s $12B rare earth plan targets China as experts warn US is ‘one crisis away’
Democrats launch Lunar New Year ad blitz to counter Trump inroads with Asian Americans
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.
