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.”
NEA insider blows whistle on ‘toxic’ culture and far-left politics inside teachers union: ‘It’s a cult’
Trump Forces the Fake News to Stare at the Mugshots of Violent Illegal Criminals Caught By ICE
GOP Barely Passes DHS, ICE Funding Thanks to 7 Democrats Who Defied Their Party
Doubts abound about proposed dual citizenship ban
Maine’s bipartisan brand of political nepotism
Texas hold ’em: Greg Abbott argues he set the standard for governors and illegal immigration
Nevada judge retires after court grants protective order to attorney she was accused of stalking
Trump says US should have tested NATO by invoking Article 5 over border security
Top 5 moments from Jack Smith’s testimony on Capitol Hill
Trump snubs Canada by withdrawing country’s invite to join ‘most prestigious Board of Leaders ever’
Newly minted Virginia AG who fantasized about opponent’s family dying roasted over glaring typo
Video captures Detroit student allegedly wielding box cutter in classroom chase as teacher intervenes
RNC eyes ‘America First’ midterm convention to boost Trump, GOP ahead of critical elections
Inside ‘MELANIA’: The unprecedented access behind Melania Trump’s first film
Armed carjacker’s wild Corvette rampage turns downtown into war zone; sergeant wounded in deadly shootout
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.
NEA insider blows whistle on ‘toxic’ culture and far-left politics inside teachers union: ‘It’s a cult’
Trump Forces the Fake News to Stare at the Mugshots of Violent Illegal Criminals Caught By ICE
GOP Barely Passes DHS, ICE Funding Thanks to 7 Democrats Who Defied Their Party
Doubts abound about proposed dual citizenship ban
Maine’s bipartisan brand of political nepotism
Texas hold ’em: Greg Abbott argues he set the standard for governors and illegal immigration
Nevada judge retires after court grants protective order to attorney she was accused of stalking
Trump says US should have tested NATO by invoking Article 5 over border security
Top 5 moments from Jack Smith’s testimony on Capitol Hill
Trump snubs Canada by withdrawing country’s invite to join ‘most prestigious Board of Leaders ever’
Newly minted Virginia AG who fantasized about opponent’s family dying roasted over glaring typo
Video captures Detroit student allegedly wielding box cutter in classroom chase as teacher intervenes
RNC eyes ‘America First’ midterm convention to boost Trump, GOP ahead of critical elections
Inside ‘MELANIA’: The unprecedented access behind Melania Trump’s first film
Armed carjacker’s wild Corvette rampage turns downtown into war zone; sergeant wounded in deadly shootout
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.
