By: José Niño
Constantly tuning into the mainstream media would have you believe that America has a problem with rifles.
In fact, many pundits and their political cronies have given Americans the impression that the country is going through an epidemic of gun violence, with so-called “assault rifles” at the center of it.
But upon further inspection of the data — what truly matters— we see a different story.
According to the FBI’s 2019 Uniform Crime Report (UCR), double the number of people were killed with “personal weapons” such as hands and fists than those killed with any type of rifle.
The reports shows 364 people died during incidents involving rifles in 219, whereas 600 were killed in attacks involving feet, fists, and hands.
Furthermore, the same UCR report revealed that more people were killed with hammers and clubs than with rifles.
Similarly, the UCR found notable disparities between the numbers of killings involving knives and rifles in 2019. The report indicated that four times as many people died as a result of stabbings than rifle shootings.
The fact remains that criminals will do whatever it takes to kill people. If they don’t have access to guns, they’ll turn to their hands, feet, blunt instruments, or blades to get the job done. Leaving large swathes of the population disarmed only makes it easier for criminals to terrorize the law-abiding. Human history has shown that the strong will always find ways to physically exploit the weak.
As we know, though, the right to bear arms allows people to have a more level playing field against would-be predators.
José Niño is an American freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Sign up for his mailing list here. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here.