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.”
Green New Deal Lovers Beware: Senate Deal Would Cut the Six-Year Stall on Pipelines and Gas Plants to 150 Days
Democrat, Leftist Ties to Suspected Serial Killer, Violent Pornographer Emerge as House of Horrors Case Grows
Wall Street has a new rival, and it’s deep in the heart of this southern state
AI is supercharging political ad wars. But viral doesn’t mean victorious
Shark bites fisherman twice during kayaking encounter along California beach
Mass shooting at Georgia block party leaves 2 dead, 35 injured
Attorney for accused Cornell student calls on Letitia James to step aside over prior comments
California realtor nabbed at LAX in alleged China spy case targeting Taiwan president’s relative
Florida Man Pleads Guilty in $500,000,000 COVID Test Fraud Scheme
Map Exposes Flocks Surprisingly Massive Network of 300K Surveillance Cameras – They’re Trying to Scrub it
Why the 2A Exists: Strict Gun Laws Fail to Stop South African Slaughter by Gunmen With AK-47s
Trump DOT Kills Biden’s Fuel Rules to Drop New Car Prices by Over $1K
Florida TikTok creator lands in jail after allegedly turning women’s private data into posts
‘We Are Destroying These Bikes’: Californians Trade in Over 1,000 E-Bikes as Injuries Increase 430%
China’s Stranglehold on Rare Metal Is Wreaking Havoc on America’s Jet Engine Supply Chain
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.
Green New Deal Lovers Beware: Senate Deal Would Cut the Six-Year Stall on Pipelines and Gas Plants to 150 Days
Democrat, Leftist Ties to Suspected Serial Killer, Violent Pornographer Emerge as House of Horrors Case Grows
Wall Street has a new rival, and it’s deep in the heart of this southern state
AI is supercharging political ad wars. But viral doesn’t mean victorious
Shark bites fisherman twice during kayaking encounter along California beach
Mass shooting at Georgia block party leaves 2 dead, 35 injured
Attorney for accused Cornell student calls on Letitia James to step aside over prior comments
California realtor nabbed at LAX in alleged China spy case targeting Taiwan president’s relative
Florida Man Pleads Guilty in $500,000,000 COVID Test Fraud Scheme
Map Exposes Flocks Surprisingly Massive Network of 300K Surveillance Cameras – They’re Trying to Scrub it
Why the 2A Exists: Strict Gun Laws Fail to Stop South African Slaughter by Gunmen With AK-47s
Trump DOT Kills Biden’s Fuel Rules to Drop New Car Prices by Over $1K
Florida TikTok creator lands in jail after allegedly turning women’s private data into posts
‘We Are Destroying These Bikes’: Californians Trade in Over 1,000 E-Bikes as Injuries Increase 430%
China’s Stranglehold on Rare Metal Is Wreaking Havoc on America’s Jet Engine Supply Chain
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.
