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 Blames Trump as Looming Mega Sale Has Staffers ‘Freaking Out’
CNN Announces ‘Special Project’ Against ‘Christian Nationalism’
Three US Service Members Killed, Five Seriously Wounded During Operation Epic Fury Against Iran
Burger King Is Altering Its Flagship Burger for the First Time in Nearly 10 Years
Deadly Austin shooting that killed 3 may be ‘act of terrorism,’ FBI says
9 people injured in mass shooting at Riverfront Live in Cincinnati
Enemy within: Counterterrorism experts fear sleeper cells could be poised inside US
Kamala Harris Intervenes at Last Second in TX Dem Senate Race, Endorses Jasmine Crockett
GOP warns Democrats’ DHS shutdown could jeopardize World Cup security
Nancy Guthrie abduction sparks fears over senior safety in affluent communities: expert
Austin Police Kill Armed Gunman After 3 Die, 14 Wounded Bar Shooting
‘I Love Trump’: Viral Videos Show Iranians Praising Trump, Dancing in the Street Following US Strikes
Dems’ potential 2028 hopefuls come out against US strikes on Iran
‘Bloodthirsty Thugs’: Trump Celebrates Killing of Iranian Regime Leader in Lengthy Post
Hegseth Announces the Woke Organization Formerly Known as the Boy Scouts Will Drop DEI – But the Damage Is Already Done
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 Blames Trump as Looming Mega Sale Has Staffers ‘Freaking Out’
CNN Announces ‘Special Project’ Against ‘Christian Nationalism’
Three US Service Members Killed, Five Seriously Wounded During Operation Epic Fury Against Iran
Burger King Is Altering Its Flagship Burger for the First Time in Nearly 10 Years
Deadly Austin shooting that killed 3 may be ‘act of terrorism,’ FBI says
9 people injured in mass shooting at Riverfront Live in Cincinnati
Enemy within: Counterterrorism experts fear sleeper cells could be poised inside US
Kamala Harris Intervenes at Last Second in TX Dem Senate Race, Endorses Jasmine Crockett
GOP warns Democrats’ DHS shutdown could jeopardize World Cup security
Nancy Guthrie abduction sparks fears over senior safety in affluent communities: expert
Austin Police Kill Armed Gunman After 3 Die, 14 Wounded Bar Shooting
‘I Love Trump’: Viral Videos Show Iranians Praising Trump, Dancing in the Street Following US Strikes
Dems’ potential 2028 hopefuls come out against US strikes on Iran
‘Bloodthirsty Thugs’: Trump Celebrates Killing of Iranian Regime Leader in Lengthy Post
Hegseth Announces the Woke Organization Formerly Known as the Boy Scouts Will Drop DEI – But the Damage Is Already Done
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.
