Assault Weapons Are Safer than Bathtubs

One of the favorite tactics used by people intent on restricting civil liberties is to claim that “assault weapons” present a “clear and present danger to society” and are responsible for “millions” of deaths. These pundits argue that because of the danger they present to society, we should ban possession of “assault weapons” by civilians. Their claims are a complete fabrication. As it turns out, “assault weapons” are safe and pose no threat to our society.

I've been putting the term “assault weapons” in quotes because there is no agreement on what the term means. California, New York, Connecticut and the Federal Government all define the term differently. While this lack of a consistent definition makes it impossible to determine exactly how dangerous “assault weapons” are, we can estimate the danger they present to our society.

Most definitions of “assault weapon” require that the weapon be a rifle, be semi-automatic, and have a detachable magazine. The FBI annually publishes data on homicides committed in the prior year. The FBI's data reflects that in 2011, there were 323 murders using all rifles (the FBI does not track how many murders are committed with “assault weapons”). Since “assault weapons” are a sub-category of rifles, this means that “assault weapons” were responsible for, at most, 323 homicides in 2011 (and likely many fewer). California's Attorney General is required by law to publish each year a written report on firearms used in the commission of crimes, including a determination of how frequently “assault weapons” are used in violent crime. Although the 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 reports indicate that “assault weapons” are used in crime at “low levels,” no homicides are attributed to “assault weapons.”

Even assuming (contrary to all common sense) that all homicides committed with a rifle were homicides committed with an “assault weapon,” this means that the annual number of homicides committed with an “assault weapons” is approximately 325 (and decreasing every year). While each of the approximately 325 homicides is tragic, it is important to consider how dangerous “assault weapons” are relative to other dangers in the United States. For example, nearly 400 deaths a year are caused by bathtubs. Why are there no people claiming that “bathtubs present a clear and present danger” to our society? It's obvious. In a country with more than 300 million people, 400 deaths present no danger to our society.

What about other weapons? Do “assault weapons” pose a greater threat to our society than other weapons? Nope. It turns out that more than twice as many homicides are committed with hands and feet than with “assault weapons.”

So, the next time someone argues that “assault weapons” are too dangerous for a civilized society, you'll know that assault weapons are safer than bathtubs. Pretty weird, isn't it?

Image courtesy of http://olegvolk.net.