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.”
Target Pays $110 Million to Break Minneapolis Lease Amid Chaos in the City
Kennedy warns Ayatollah wants to ‘drink our blood out of a boot’ as Iran tensions escalate
BREAKING VIDEO: Hillary Flees Mic 4 Seconds After Reporter Dares Ask Why Ghislaine Maxwell Was at Chelsea’s Wedding in 2010
Hillary Clinton comes out swinging after GOP grilled her during marathon Epstein deposition
Two groups form in California governor’s race, but still no clear front-runner
Former Marvel actor working with Daily Wire for action movie produced by Ben Shapiro
Watch: The Priceless Look on This Sign Language Interpreter’s Face When She Has to Sign Hateful Islamic Verses She Probably Never Knew Existed
Denver mayor orders ICE agents detained if they ‘assault or shoot’ residents
Iran and US silent as negotiations in Geneva conclude without resolution
Travis County DA faces renewed ‘soft on crime’ criticism after career criminal charged with murder
Perfect Justice: Bill Gates Confesses to Russian Connection That Trump Was Falsely Accused of for Years
Nancy Guthrie neighbors’ Ring camera captures vehicles on possible route from crime scene
Family claims casino staff mistook veteran’s illness for intoxication, delaying care before his death
Retired Air Force Major Charged for Allegedly Training Chinese Military Pilots
New Texas Poll Is Out, and Stephen Colbert and Democratic Establishment Won’t Be Happy With It
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.
Target Pays $110 Million to Break Minneapolis Lease Amid Chaos in the City
Kennedy warns Ayatollah wants to ‘drink our blood out of a boot’ as Iran tensions escalate
BREAKING VIDEO: Hillary Flees Mic 4 Seconds After Reporter Dares Ask Why Ghislaine Maxwell Was at Chelsea’s Wedding in 2010
Hillary Clinton comes out swinging after GOP grilled her during marathon Epstein deposition
Two groups form in California governor’s race, but still no clear front-runner
Former Marvel actor working with Daily Wire for action movie produced by Ben Shapiro
Watch: The Priceless Look on This Sign Language Interpreter’s Face When She Has to Sign Hateful Islamic Verses She Probably Never Knew Existed
Denver mayor orders ICE agents detained if they ‘assault or shoot’ residents
Iran and US silent as negotiations in Geneva conclude without resolution
Travis County DA faces renewed ‘soft on crime’ criticism after career criminal charged with murder
Perfect Justice: Bill Gates Confesses to Russian Connection That Trump Was Falsely Accused of for Years
Nancy Guthrie neighbors’ Ring camera captures vehicles on possible route from crime scene
Family claims casino staff mistook veteran’s illness for intoxication, delaying care before his death
Retired Air Force Major Charged for Allegedly Training Chinese Military Pilots
New Texas Poll Is Out, and Stephen Colbert and Democratic Establishment Won’t Be Happy With It
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.
