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.”
New Jersey Gov Sherrill signs law barring ICE agents from wearing face coverings to shield identities
Trump admin makes new criminal referrals to DOJ targeting New York AG Letitia James
Gorman family calls out Johnson and Pritzker following college student’s killing in Chicago
DOJ settles with Michael Flynn over Russia probe after wrongful prosecution claim: ‘Historic injustice’
Cop on trial denies gunning for fellow officer in clash at home; prosecutors argue lethal risk was real
US moves airborne troops, Marines as Iran rejects ceasefire, raising ground war potential
Court Rules Illegal Aliens Can Be Locked Up Without Bond
‘Project Hail Mary’ Writer Says Hit Film Worked Because He Avoided Woke Political Agendas
Days Before Iran Strikes, DOJ Charged Silicon Valley Engineers in Case Involving Tech Secrets Sent to Tehran
California Dems unleashed pressure campaign against USC prior to debate cancellation
Fact Check: Are ICE Agents Helping to Fix Airport Chaos Democrats Created?
Chicago Mayor Johnson unveils ‘Abolish ICE’ snowplow days after student allegedly murdered by illegal migrant
DOJ settles Michael Flynn wrongful prosecution suit for $1.2 million
Watch: Actor Vince Vaughn Skewers Low-Rated Late-Night Hosts for Ruining Shows with Far-Left Politics
Virginia high school mom says students are ‘traumatized’ by illegal immigrant who allegedly groped girls
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.
New Jersey Gov Sherrill signs law barring ICE agents from wearing face coverings to shield identities
Trump admin makes new criminal referrals to DOJ targeting New York AG Letitia James
Gorman family calls out Johnson and Pritzker following college student’s killing in Chicago
DOJ settles with Michael Flynn over Russia probe after wrongful prosecution claim: ‘Historic injustice’
Cop on trial denies gunning for fellow officer in clash at home; prosecutors argue lethal risk was real
US moves airborne troops, Marines as Iran rejects ceasefire, raising ground war potential
Court Rules Illegal Aliens Can Be Locked Up Without Bond
‘Project Hail Mary’ Writer Says Hit Film Worked Because He Avoided Woke Political Agendas
Days Before Iran Strikes, DOJ Charged Silicon Valley Engineers in Case Involving Tech Secrets Sent to Tehran
California Dems unleashed pressure campaign against USC prior to debate cancellation
Fact Check: Are ICE Agents Helping to Fix Airport Chaos Democrats Created?
Chicago Mayor Johnson unveils ‘Abolish ICE’ snowplow days after student allegedly murdered by illegal migrant
DOJ settles Michael Flynn wrongful prosecution suit for $1.2 million
Watch: Actor Vince Vaughn Skewers Low-Rated Late-Night Hosts for Ruining Shows with Far-Left Politics
Virginia high school mom says students are ‘traumatized’ by illegal immigrant who allegedly groped girls
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.
