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.”
CNN, After Bleeding Millions of Viewers, Rolls Out Documentary Targeting Patriotic Christians
Trump orders complete withdrawal of all troops from Syria within two months: report
US-Iran conflict: All sides brace for war as ‘nothing burger’ nuclear negotiations prove fruitless
Watch: Trump Posts Loving Tribute to Rush Limbaugh on Fifth Anniversary of His Death, Says ‘There Will Never Be Another Rush Limbaugh’
Missile defense race shifts to space as experts say real battle is in first minutes after launch
FBI Director Patel says investigators have found antifa funding sources
Border protocols automatically triggered in search for Nancy Guthrie, retired agent says
FBI joins probe in murder of Christian teacher shot in Ohio home as ‘American Idol’ husband, children slept
Report: Legacy Media ‘Journalist’ Caught Giving Marco Rubio the Finger During Press Conference
Obama and Susan Rice Reportedly ‘Broke Down and Cried’ After Trump’s 2016 Win
Mamdani plan pours millions into ‘racial equity’ offices and six-figure diversity jobs, cuts 5,000 NYPD jobs
Netflix faces consumer lawsuit as Warner Bros. merger scrutiny mounts
Bernie Sanders heads to California to rally support for the billionaire wealth tax
Duffy gives Illinois 30-day ultimatum after audit finds 1 in 5 noncitizen truck licenses issued illegally
Nigel Farage appoints JD Vance’s ‘British sherpa’ as head of policy for Reform UK
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.
CNN, After Bleeding Millions of Viewers, Rolls Out Documentary Targeting Patriotic Christians
Trump orders complete withdrawal of all troops from Syria within two months: report
US-Iran conflict: All sides brace for war as ‘nothing burger’ nuclear negotiations prove fruitless
Watch: Trump Posts Loving Tribute to Rush Limbaugh on Fifth Anniversary of His Death, Says ‘There Will Never Be Another Rush Limbaugh’
Missile defense race shifts to space as experts say real battle is in first minutes after launch
FBI Director Patel says investigators have found antifa funding sources
Border protocols automatically triggered in search for Nancy Guthrie, retired agent says
FBI joins probe in murder of Christian teacher shot in Ohio home as ‘American Idol’ husband, children slept
Report: Legacy Media ‘Journalist’ Caught Giving Marco Rubio the Finger During Press Conference
Obama and Susan Rice Reportedly ‘Broke Down and Cried’ After Trump’s 2016 Win
Mamdani plan pours millions into ‘racial equity’ offices and six-figure diversity jobs, cuts 5,000 NYPD jobs
Netflix faces consumer lawsuit as Warner Bros. merger scrutiny mounts
Bernie Sanders heads to California to rally support for the billionaire wealth tax
Duffy gives Illinois 30-day ultimatum after audit finds 1 in 5 noncitizen truck licenses issued illegally
Nigel Farage appoints JD Vance’s ‘British sherpa’ as head of policy for Reform UK
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.
