Every year the FBI compiles the most accurate and impartial accounting of crime in the United States. The “FBI Uniform Crime Report” is available online for all to see. It gives people the opportunity to understand trends in crime and investigate the impact of various policies on the crime rate in the United States. Gun control activists like Shannon Watts (spokesperson for Michael Bloomberg’s Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety campaigns) continue to assert that there is a “gun violence epidemic” in the United States. In fact, for the 12th straight year in a row. . .
the violent crime rate (including the murder rate) has decreased. Gone down. Been reduced. The exact opposite of what you would expect with an “epidemic.” From the report . . .
In 2014, there were an estimated 1,165,383 violent crimes. Murder and non-negligent manslaughter decreased 0.5 percent and robbery decreased 5.6 percent when compared with estimates from 2013. Rape (legacy definition) and aggravated assault, however, increased 2.4 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively.
According to the data released along with this report, California is the #1 state in the United States for firearms-related murders. Again. The Golden State was home to nearly twice as many firearms-related murders as the next state on the list (Texas) despite having a plethora of gun control laws in place.
This continued decline in the murder rate comes as many states are restoring gun rights to their citizens and the number of firearms in the United States continues to increase by millions annually. Logic dictates that a decreasing murder rate in the face of an increasing firearms ownership indicates that guns and murder are not related.
While the idea popularized by John Lott – more guns = less crime – is subject to debate, it’s a fact that more guns don’t cause more murders. Gun control activists have ignored this trend for the last 12 years. And there’s little hope that they will recognize – or admit – the flaw in their argument anytime soon.