FBI Report: Yes, Homicides by Gun (Even the AR-15) Are Falling

With a daily diet of 24-7 news cycles, it’s no wonder most people are terrified of becoming a victim, or worse – having our children in the crosshairs of an evildoer.

Thank God this happens far less than the media would have us believe.

Crime in the United States actually took a dive of 7% between 2017 and 2018.  This is great news, but it’s been woefully overlooked by the media for obvious reasons:  good news doesn’t sell.

According to a recently released report from the FBI, homicides dropped by 6% last year.  This dip follows reported minor increases in both violent crime and homicide, which is likely due to significant increases in crime ravaged cities such as Chicago, Baltimore and St. Louis.

A point GOC finds remarkably significant is that there was a considerable decline in homicides by guns – specifically those committed with rifles.

The Free Beacon reports that “Overall, violent crime rates fell by just under 4 percent, from 383.8 offenses per 100,000 people to 368.9, the report shows. That decline reflects not just the 6 percent reduction in the homicide rate, but also decreases in the robbery and aggravated assault rates. Among violent crimes, only the rate of rapes increased, rising from 41.7 rapes per 100,000 people to 42.6. The property crime rate fell for the 19th consecutive year.”

One of the most significant points in the report was the drop in the homicide rate.  This signifies a considerable reversal, since for the first time in over ten years – in both 2015 and 2016 – homicides were on their way up.

A point GOC finds remarkably significant is that there was a considerable decline in homicides by guns – specifically those committed with rifles. The Free Beacon made the shrewd observation that the “decline is particularly noteworthy given the increasingly heated rhetoric around firearms regulation from contenders in the 2020 Democratic primary.” Indeed – there’s been a lot of fist pumping on this – the candidates have virtually signaled unanimous calls for restrictions – and outright bans – on modern sporting rifles such as the AR-15.

Who doesn’t celebrate a decline in crime – no matter how small or large?  Obviously, it’s good news that shootings and murders are taking a dive rather than ramping upward, right?  But to the Left and their media compatriots, there’s been no positive observance of this FBI Report – actually, the silence has been deafening.

Such good news notwithstanding, we do need to pay attention to the big picture.  The FBI also reported that in spite of the fact that both crime and homicide raters decreased last year, they are still greater than those in 2014.  Regarding that point, the Free Beacon wrote that  “By comparison to the precipitous rates of decline in the 1990s and early 2000s, the annual rise and fall of the past 10 years seems to have coalesced around a violent crime rate far below its 1992 peak, but far above where it was in 1960.“  They conclude with a sobering statement: “This same trend appears in the recently released National Crime and Victimization Survey, which tracks crime victimization through a statistical sample of the population. Both survey findings suggest the same conclusion: America’s 20-year crime decline may have come to a close.”

More than ever before, the integrity of the 2nd Amendment must be upheld.  Our government – as bloated as it has become in the past 50 years cannot assign a cop to each and every one of us.  Thus, the most effective path to not becoming a victim in this broken world of ours is to make absolute certain that we hang onto our right to protect ourselves, our homes and our families.