Hammers Deadlier Than Rifles? FBI Releases Crime Stats For 2011

Is a hammer really deadlier than a rifle? According to new crime statistics from the FBI, more people were killed in 2011 by hammers and other blunt objects than rifles.

This is pretty interesting statistic considering the current political climate in the United States.

Several conservative blogs, like Breitbart.com, have already jumped on the new stats to argue against a rifle ban.

Breitbart writes: “A rifle ban is as illogical as it is unconstitutional. We face far greater danger from individuals armed with carpenters’ tools and a caveman’s stick.”

The blog uses several factual pieces of evidence to back up this conclusion. In 2011, 496 people were murdered with a hammer or a blunt object compare to just 323 murders that were committed with a rifle. Blunt objects also beat out the number of murders committed with a shotgun (356).

Personal weapons (hands, feet) and knives were also considered more dangerous than rifles and shotguns.

Of course, when you look at all firearms combined the numbers are little different. More than 6,000 murders were committed this year with handguns and another 1500 were committed with a firearm that fits in the “other” category. In total, 8,583 of the 12,664 murder victims in the United States were killed by guns.

The FBI’s crime stats are relatively consistent throughout the years. Blunt objects were used in more murders than shotguns in every year from 2005-2009. Personal weapons were used more than blunt objects and handguns were always the weapon of choice.

The FBI crime statistics show two things: (1) Firearms are used in the majority of murders in the United States, and (2) if a person is really intent on killing someone, they don’t need a gun to do it.

What do you think of the crime statistics? Do they show that a rifle ban would be illogical? Does it show that murder is inevitable? Do the stats encourage a ban on all firearms? A ban on carpentry tools?