Do you have a website with those statistics handy? Thanks!
>>Do you have a website with those statistics handy?
There was a long article comparing stats from US and Canada that referenced these stats - which I can’t find quickly now. However, here’s a couple of recent references, quotes, then source:
“Though it is one of the most popular rifles sold to civilians, the AR-15 is rarely used in crimes, presumably because it’s not readily concealed. The most recent FBI figures show just 358 of the 8,775 murders by firearm in 2010 involved rifles of any type. By comparison, 745 people were beaten to death with only hands that year, but no one has called for outlawing fists.”
JENNIFER RUBIN, WASHINGTON POST: “Listen, we can make all of the declarative statements we want. There is no shortage of empirical data in criminology. In fact, it’s one of the most researched areas of social science. When we had the gun law, the assault ban weapon, there wasn’t a decrease, when we let it expire, there wasn’t an increase.
“We have had a gradual decline over the last 40 years in gun violence and all kinds of violence, in part, because of better policing, in part, because incarceration. So I think some of these statements that there are — we’re having more of these incidents, they simply are not true.”