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.”
Biden Admin Used Threats to Silence Parents from Speaking Out Against Woke Policies, Teaching: DOJ Report
Kimberly Guilfoyle faces potential Senate probe over bombshell $100K allegation
Booker ‘wowed’ by GOP challenger’s blunt message to Trump
US military archbishop urges Catholic soldiers to refuse involvement in Army firing squad execution
Protester punched in face by Trump supporter, mocked by president at Ohio rally: ‘Gotta go on a diet’
Man admits to dismembering ex-girlfriend, keeping severed head in suitcase after she played him ‘like a fool’
Raw Footage: Federal Agents Remove Evidence from Ilhan Omar’s House
DOJ Investigating Fox News, CNN, Broadcast Networks for Possible Violations of Federal Law
Police Likely Amassed ‘Compelling Evidence’ in ‘End of a Long Investigation’ Into Ilhan Omar Even Before Raid: Source
Mamdani Skips Decades-Long New York Tradition to Spite Christopher Columbus – Attendees Are Glad He’s a No-Show
Katie Zacharia says she plans to be press secretary until the end of Trump’s term as she preps for first briefing
Online marketplace jewelry listing tied to armed robbery in affluent Tennessee city
‘Maryland Dad’ All Over Again: TX Illegal ICE Shot and Libs Love Was Machete-Wielding Menace, Says Ex-Neighbor
Bigfoot Clip Everyone’s Seen Is Shown to Be Total Fraud After Film Cannister Stored in Safe for Decades Found
Actress Selma Blair Arrested After Alleged Violent Incident on Flight
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.
Biden Admin Used Threats to Silence Parents from Speaking Out Against Woke Policies, Teaching: DOJ Report
Kimberly Guilfoyle faces potential Senate probe over bombshell $100K allegation
Booker ‘wowed’ by GOP challenger’s blunt message to Trump
US military archbishop urges Catholic soldiers to refuse involvement in Army firing squad execution
Protester punched in face by Trump supporter, mocked by president at Ohio rally: ‘Gotta go on a diet’
Man admits to dismembering ex-girlfriend, keeping severed head in suitcase after she played him ‘like a fool’
Raw Footage: Federal Agents Remove Evidence from Ilhan Omar’s House
DOJ Investigating Fox News, CNN, Broadcast Networks for Possible Violations of Federal Law
Police Likely Amassed ‘Compelling Evidence’ in ‘End of a Long Investigation’ Into Ilhan Omar Even Before Raid: Source
Mamdani Skips Decades-Long New York Tradition to Spite Christopher Columbus – Attendees Are Glad He’s a No-Show
Katie Zacharia says she plans to be press secretary until the end of Trump’s term as she preps for first briefing
Online marketplace jewelry listing tied to armed robbery in affluent Tennessee city
‘Maryland Dad’ All Over Again: TX Illegal ICE Shot and Libs Love Was Machete-Wielding Menace, Says Ex-Neighbor
Bigfoot Clip Everyone’s Seen Is Shown to Be Total Fraud After Film Cannister Stored in Safe for Decades Found
Actress Selma Blair Arrested After Alleged Violent Incident on Flight
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.
