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.”
NBA Player Jaden Ivey Seen Street Preaching After Stand for Biblical Marriage
Victor Davis Hanson Breaks Down Why US Must Rethink NATO Strategy
Conservative group launches $5M ad blitz pressuring Senate on voter ID as GOP eyes SAVE America Act push
Trump orders a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as tensions with Iran soar
Dave Ramsey Said No – As Usual – But One of The Backstreet Boys Made Her Dream Come True Anyway
Athena Strand’s killer FedEx driver’s split personas, defense scream ‘manipulation,’ not madness: expert
Judge Boots PETA Suit Designed to Do Away with Dachshund, Pug, Bulldog, and Other So-Called ‘Deformed’ Breeds
Ex-Biden staffer claims accidental shot killed girlfriend as dad blasts toxic, abusive relationship: report
Appeals court says federal judge must reconsider blocking WH ballroom, weigh national security concerns
Report: China Supplying Iran with Anti-Aircraft Weapons to Aid in Fight Against US
Carney casts himself as NATO defender amid Trump beef, despite Canada missing key benchmark for decades
Scott Presler’s pressure campaign fuels GOP SAVE America Act standoff
Conservative Journalists Obtain Files on Charlie Kirk Murder from Utah Valley University
The states revealed as best to start a family amid cratering belief in the American Dream
Resurfaced clips from top Democrats echoing Trump on birthright citizenship spark online uproar: ‘Wow’
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.
NBA Player Jaden Ivey Seen Street Preaching After Stand for Biblical Marriage
Victor Davis Hanson Breaks Down Why US Must Rethink NATO Strategy
Conservative group launches $5M ad blitz pressuring Senate on voter ID as GOP eyes SAVE America Act push
Trump orders a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as tensions with Iran soar
Dave Ramsey Said No – As Usual – But One of The Backstreet Boys Made Her Dream Come True Anyway
Athena Strand’s killer FedEx driver’s split personas, defense scream ‘manipulation,’ not madness: expert
Judge Boots PETA Suit Designed to Do Away with Dachshund, Pug, Bulldog, and Other So-Called ‘Deformed’ Breeds
Ex-Biden staffer claims accidental shot killed girlfriend as dad blasts toxic, abusive relationship: report
Appeals court says federal judge must reconsider blocking WH ballroom, weigh national security concerns
Report: China Supplying Iran with Anti-Aircraft Weapons to Aid in Fight Against US
Carney casts himself as NATO defender amid Trump beef, despite Canada missing key benchmark for decades
Scott Presler’s pressure campaign fuels GOP SAVE America Act standoff
Conservative Journalists Obtain Files on Charlie Kirk Murder from Utah Valley University
The states revealed as best to start a family amid cratering belief in the American Dream
Resurfaced clips from top Democrats echoing Trump on birthright citizenship spark online uproar: ‘Wow’
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.
