Measurement lends perspective

Measurement lends perspective. For those who would but see.

From FBI: More people killed with knives, hammers, clubs and even feet than rifles in 2018 by LET Staff. It has actually been true for years but no one wants to focus on the uncomfortable reality that all the ideological vehemence around long guns does not reflect the realities of violence. Leading the disinterestedly curious wondering about what must be the real motive behind the obsession with long gun control.

According to the FBI, more than five times as many people were killed in 2018 by knives, clubs and other cutting instruments than with rifles.

The metrics show that there were a total of 1,515 deaths by knives or other cutting instruments last year. Compare that against 297 people killed by rifles.

It’s a gap that widened significantly over 2017. In that year, the FBI said nearly four times as many people were stabbed to death as killed with rifles. During that year, the number of murders with rifles was around 400.

It gets better. More than 100 more people were killed with hammers and clubs in 2018 than were killed by rifles. There were 443 people killed with hammers, clubs, or other “blunt objects”.

We need to point out that the data isn’t just semiautomatic rifles – it’s ALL rifles, including bolt action, pump or lever action rifles as well.

If you were to contrast the numbers between JUST semiautomatic rifles and knife homicides, the gap would be even larger.

Here’s another number that will blow your mind. The data also shows that in 2018, there were 672 deaths from “fists, feet and other ‘personal weapons’” – which is once again more than with rifles.

300 deaths from long guns are still a tragedy. And all deaths are equal in their oblivion. But the data suggests that the focus should be on helping people and their behaviors rather than trying to strip away constitutional freedoms.