Less than 0.00004 Percent Of All U.S. Guns Are Used In Homicides

Brittany M. Hughes | September 1, 2015 12:04pm ET



Firearms have been getting a lot of airtime in the media recently, with the debate surrounding gun safety simmering at a slow and steady boil before surging to the headlines after each bout of random violence by a deranged person intent on doing harm. So it?s no surprise when a terrible tragedy like the one last Wednesday, in which WDBJ7 reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were shot and killed by a racist ex-coworker with a chip on his shoulder the size of Alaska, is quickly followed by an outcry against guns and a demand for stricter laws -- or even an outright ban.

Amid all the concern over guns, perhaps it's important to understand just how many of these firearms currently sitting in millions of homes throughout America are actually used in homicides.

According to the most recent government data, it?s less than 0.00004 percent.

The most recent estimates for the number of guns in circulation throughout the United States falls somewhere around 310 million by 2009 standards, according to the National Institute of Justice. There are probably even more now that it?s six years later, but we?ll stick with the latest concrete number.

The number of firearm-related homicides in 2013 -- the CDC?s most recent data -- was 11,208 (so about 309,988,792 guns were just milling about that year, not killing anybody).

That means about 0.000036 homicides were committed per gun in the United States in 2013. For those of you who don?t like doing math, that?s less than four homicides per 100,000 guns.

The numbers aren?t too much higher when compared with the number gun owners in America -- which is a significantly smaller figure than the number of guns in circulation, since many gun owners own more than one firearm.

Since you can?t legally own a rifle until the age of 18 or a handgun until you?re 21 in most states, we?ll start with the number of people 18 and older in the United States, which the U.S. Census Bureau estimated to be around 242.5 million in 2013.

There aren?t any national gun registration laws, so the number of gun owners is a little more difficult to calculate. According to a 2011 Gallup poll, however, about 45 percent Americans reported owning a gun. By this estimate, there were about 109 million gun owners, or people with easy access to them, in the United States in 2013.

So according to these numbers, if there were 11,208 gun-related homicides in 2013, that comes out to about 0.0001 firearm-related homicides per gun owner, or one in 10,000.

Now, unless you?re one of the few people out there who actually wants to do harm to your fellow man, even one preventable death by shooting is too many. In fact, most people would argue that one preventable death from just about any cause is one too many, right?

Take abortion, for example. In 2010, there were 765,651 reported abortions performed in the United States, according to the CDC. But buried within the agency?s 2011 report is the added fact that 10 women died from abortion complications that same year.

Setting aside the fact that abortion carries a nearly 100 percent chance of death for the baby, that?s a rate of about 1.5 deaths per 100,000 women.

So is one really too many? 

I would imagine the vast amount of homicides by guns are bought illegally- I'll bet there are more accidental shootings than homicides with registered guns- 

It is, however, a fact that every homicide by gunfire involved a gun.

Somewhere north of 310,000,000 guns in these United States. A larger percentile would certainly be noticeable. 

"It is, however, a fact that every homicide by gunfire involved a gun."

Wow very impressive Sherlock Holmes-Like Powers of Observation. 

I_won't_tell --- 9 sec ago - quote - hide comments
"It is, however, a fact that every homicide by gunfire involved a gun."

Wow very impressive Sherlock Holmes-Like Powers of Observation.?


LIKE! 

Was there some kind of debate over this or something?? 

Less than 0.00004 Percent Of All U.S. Guns Are Used In Homicides

Well, that makes it OK!

Now, what's the stats on suicide and "accidental" shootings? 

Well, that makes it OK!

If you say so. 

Libs say voter fraud is only .02% so it's a non issue.. If we use that logic .00004 is a even larger non issue 

Or if you look at it another way

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, 467,321 persons were victims of a crime committed with a firearm in 2011.[1] In the same year, data collected by the FBI show that firearms were used in 68 percent of murders, 41 percent of robbery offenses and 21 percent of aggravated assaults nationwide.[2]
Most homicides in the United States are committed with firearms, especially handguns.[3]
Homicides committed with firearms peaked in 1993 at 17,075, after which the figure steadily fell, reaching a low of 10,117 in 1999. Gun-related homicides increased slightly after that, to a high of 11,547 in 2006, before falling again to 10,869 in 2008.[4] 

You can't say votes were 68% fraudulent. 

How many of those crimes were commited by criminals with guns illegally obtained.. You can have all the legislation you want but criminals will still have a arsenal of weapons that were stolen.

I'll help you its 94% of guns in Crimes were stolen from homes and from the police. So only 6% of the numbers posted were from a person who legally purchased and used a gun in a crime. Using your numbers that's apprx 649..

Total votes in 2012 election were 129M using the left .02% figure would make the voter fraud number 2,584,752 

Given the huge number of gun accidents, intentional killings, and nonfatal shootings, that statistic just says to me that we have way too many guns out there. You want the statistic to be even lower? More guns! Duh. 

Libs say voter fraud is only .02% so it's a non issue.. If we use that logic .00004 is a even larger non issue

Exactly. 

More guns!

More in the hands of responsible, law abiding gun owners.

Less in the hands of the mentally ill, law breakers, and irresponsible. 

Soup I could spit out any random number and if it appeared to be in your favor you would agree with it and run around screaming about it for a week. 

99.999% of bumbling idiots have ate soup at some point in their life. 

Now you're talking like mark.

No sense at all. 

Notice that she didn't even attempt to dispute the facts .. Just ignore and it didn't post.. Typical liberal mo 

58 dead in Vegas 500 wounded. I wonder if states are getting tired of having mass shootings. 

No they did not. 

Erroneous bimbo meme becomes reality. 

Come on all you scream out in unison,

WE NEED OUR GUNS! 

Remember the driver of the truck in France, the 9/11 planes, the Boston bombs. You don't need guns to kill. Take the guns away from legal owners and the only people with them will be the criminals. 

Brilliant! .005 % of Chicago's people are murderers. Guess there's no problem!! 

What I find disgusting is these people who turn EVERY event into an opportunity to incite hate, divide us, and fly the flag of their brand of political righteousness, (and hateful memes) right thru injured and dead bodies still cold and laying on the ground.

We don't need to stir up more hate, do we? Why do you enjoy that so? Those who constantly do this are feeding off of our losses, our devastation and our pain as a society. It's really, really disgusting. But, YOU go ahead. Others are giving blood, assisting the wounded and devastated and praying for healing. But, go ahead and hate bc you reap what you sow. Real changes ARE needed in an atmosphere of communication and respect, of which you will never be a part. No, you'll be busy on KU and FB stirring up what's inside of you, and being rude and insulting.
You are part of the problem that has resulted in two parties more concerned with "winning" than actually getting needed changes that benefit us all. 

Do you ever have a point? 

Why don't you just stop obsessing over me? Your world will be better. 

LOL Obsessing over you? Don?t flatter yourself. 

Why don't you just stop obsessing over me?

Its Love 

It really is! I'm just that cool I guess, LOL! 

Total votes in 2012 election were 129M using the left .02% figure would make the voter fraud number 2,584,752?

I think your math needs work, 1% of 129,000,000 is 1,290,000 which makes the actual figure 25,800. 

I'll help you its 94% of guns in Crimes were stolen from homes and from the police. So only 6% of the numbers posted were from a person who legally purchased and used a gun in a crime. Using your numbers that's apprx 649..

So... if criminals are stealing guns from homeowners then a) those guns aren't protecting anyone or anything and b) if they didn't have the guns there would be none for the criminals to steal.

Using the number of guns in the country is a meaningless statistic, it's the number of people USING them and the number of people being shot with them that is relevant. 

Less than 0.00004 Percent Of All U.S. Guns Are Used In Homicides

That was 2+ years ago. I wonder what that number is after Vegas. Thats why I dug up this thread. 

Less in the hands of the mentally ill, law breakers, and irresponsible.?

Except the republicans won't allow reasonable requirements for being mentally competent to hold a firearm and they won't do anything to make it easier for the mentally ill to get treatment, exactly the opposite in fact so throwing out the fact that it is a mental illness problem at every opportunity is not an argument that helps the right wing cause. 

How about those two that were shooting out the window as they drove...Yeah,
Its time for some gun regulation.

Just a matter of time before they drive down bobs street 

Yeah,
Its time for some gun regulation.

Like what? 

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