Violent Crime in America

 

The recent murders of Charlie Kirk, Iryna Zarutska, Dr. Julia Gard Schnuelle and subsequent sympathy for their murderers is unreal. In the case of Charlie Kirk, it has included celebrating in the streets, defacing memorials, attacks on mourners, and remarks so vile that many have been fired from their jobs. Even talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel wasn't immune. Since when do Americans celebrate the death of someone over a difference of opinions? 

The glorification of violence and disregard for human life has once again underscored the vast and deep divide between the Left and Right in this country. It has also brought to the national forefront once more the growth of violence in this country, with some calling for confiscating firearms (all though two of the murders involved the use of a knife).

Along with this rise violence has been the dramatic increase in vitriol anti-White rhetoric. Black on white crime is at a all time high, with Black assailants and White victims accounting for  63.9% of robberies, 58.6% of the rapes, and 51.8% of assaults. By contrast, Blacks are the victims in crimes involving robbery where the perpetrator was White just 8.3% of the time, and in 2.7% of assaults, and 5.5% of the rapes.

Hispanics also face a far disproportional rate of victimhood when it comes to murder, rape, assault, and robbery. They are more likely to be the victim of a violent crime 65% more often than someone who was White and 54% more likely than a Black  individual. Asians too are facing higher rates of violent crime. What is happening in America?

According to FBI statistics from 2019, the latest available, 51.3% of those arrested for murder were Black. 45.7% were White, while 1.83% were Hispanic and 1.1% were Asians. When it came to aggravated assault,  Whites were responsible for 62.2%. Blacks committed 32.7%. Native Americans were 2.2%. Asians made up just 1.8% of those convicted on aggravated assault charges. Note these are raw numbers and not based on their percentage of the population

Another form of assault is rape. In 2019, there were some 13,799 reported cases. Whites were reported as the offender in nearly 70% of the cases. Blacks were reported as the perpetrators in 26.8% of the incidents. Asians were arrested in 1.7% of the attacks while Native Americans accounted for 1.5% of the reported rapes.

Note that many cases of rape are not reported or the charges are withdrawn for various reasons. As of 2024, there are an estimated 225,000 unprocessed rape test kits currently lagging in storage areas. While the judicial system does consider rape a serious issue, many jurisdictions lack the funding or staff to process the kits timely.

A ScienceDirect Study from 2020 reported that from 2016 and 2018, there were approximately 300,000 to 400,000 untested kits awaiting processing. A 2022 Congressional Study reported an estimated backlog of anywhere from 90,000 to a staggering 400,000 untested kits were still pending. Some of the worse offenders are West Virginia, Louisiana, Oregon, and North Carolina.  

One of the states with the worse record is Kentucky. It received a test kit on January 7, 1993 and didn’t finalized the results until 28 years later, on September 27, 2021! But if you think that’s bad, consider Washington State. It received a test kit on January 14, 1984 and didn’t return the results until October 3, 2022, some 38 years later! While there should have been repercussions, it should also be noted that the there is no federal law mandating the tracking, processing, and reporting on rape test kits, which is obviously unacceptable on any level.

When it came to robbery, the FBI report indicated that in 2019 there were 104,595 reports. Of those apprehended, Whites made up the overwhelming majority at 69.8%. Blacks were 27.3% while Native Americans were 1.4% and Asians were 1.2%. Hispanics were 18, 584 of those arrested and convicted.

Unlawful weapon possession is another serious crime the FBI keeps track of. Their data shows there were 97,466 reported arrests made in 2019. Of those busted, 54,167 were White. 40,827 were Black. 18,756 were Hispanic. 1,073 were Asian, and just 988 were Native American, which brings up to another topic—gun violence.

Despite the rantings of a few, the prospects of any political or government agency actually seizing America’s guns are highly unlikely. Based on 2024 data, there are approximately 107 gun owning Americans, or roughly 32% of the adult population of the United States. In all likelihood, that number is higher. Much higher. There are approximately 120 guns per every 100 individuals. In addition, roughly 40% of the U.S. population live in a household where is at least one firearm present.

Guns in the United States are as much a part of the culture as the Old West and the Declaration of Independence. They were written into our Bill of Rights, to be used as a tool to protect us from government overreach and tyranny. They were as any essential tool in the exploration and settlement of this country. We still use them to hunt and for sport. Guns are as much as part of the American character as our belief in individualism and our sense of freedom.

In terms of the demographics of gun ownership, it should come as no surprise that males own 40% of the firearms compared to women who own about 25%. Those living in the country or in rural locations comprise 47% of gun owners. Those who live in suburbia make up some 30% while those living in urban areas are about 20%.

When it comes to age, older Americans, those 50 and up, are the mostly likely to own a firearm at 46% followed by those 30 to 49 at 42%.  The least likely was those individuals between 18 and 29. Only around 32% of them own any sort of firearm. The number one reason for gun ownership---72%---was for personal protection. An average of 31% said it was for hunting and target shooting. 15% said they were simply gun collectors, and just 7% said it was required as part of their job.

Academically, 47% of those with at least some college are most likely to have a gun. Next are those education extends up to high school. About 43% of them own a firearm of some sort. About 40% of college graduates are gunowners while just 30% of those with post graduate degrees are.

When it comes to race, the majority of gun owners---38%---are White. 24% are Black while 20% are Hispanic, and 10% are of Asian heritage. No data was available for Native Americans or Pacific Islanders. Another interesting statistic is political registration.

According to the survey, 45% of Republicans own at least one firearm while just 20% of Democrats own one or more guns. The survey, conducted by Pew, ignores Independents, the nations largest political demographic, so it has to be “presumed” that the 35% difference between Republican and Democrat ownership must be Independents. Unfortunately, a rare case of poor statistics gathering by Pew.

In 2023 there were over 46,000 deaths due to gun violence. Contrary to popular opinion, most of these weren’t the result of a crime, but rather the result of suicide or other self-inflicted injury (there were 26,700 gun related suicides in 2023). Gun related deaths are the leading cause of children ages 1 through 17, largely to a failure to properly secure the weapons and in the case of older kids, a lack of adequate gun safety training. The graphic violence is often portrayed and glorified in video games and in movie are also a significant factor. Unfortunately, there’s no reset button to push in real life.

In terms of gun safety, 58% of those surveyed said they supported tighter gun safety laws. 26% said that the current level of gun laws were about right and 15% thought they were too strict. 88% of Republicans and 89% of Democrats support restrictions on those with known mental illnesses from owning a firearm. 69% of Republicans would like to see the age requirement to own a gun of any sort raised to 21 across the board. 90% of Democrats agree. Mandatory gun safety and care training is also strongly recommended.

So where are the gun related deaths the worse? According to a 2022 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), which keeps track of these figures, Texas had the most gun related deaths at 4,630. California had 3,484, while Florida was next with 3,232 deaths. Georgia had 2,163. Other states with a high number of gun related deaths included Pennsylvania with 1,941, Illinois at 1,798, and North Carolina reporting 1,831, matching Ohio.

Indiana had 1,211 gun related deaths with the majority being in Gary and Indianapolis. Tennessee had 1,480, mostly stemming from Memphis and Nashville. Kentucky had 840 with Louisville leading the way. The District of Columbia, the nation’s capital, had 154. Meanwhile, Vermont experienced only 84 deaths. Hawaii had 66, and in  Rhode Island there were only 37 gun related deaths.  

It bears mentioning that while the United States is usually portrayed as the gun related death capitol of the world, there are countries far worse than the U.S.  According to a report by World Population Review for 2025, the overall death rate by gun in the United States is 4.42 deaths per 100,000, but first, who are among the lowest?  

In Jordon, despite being surrounded by violence coming from neighboring Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Iraq, the number of civilian gun related deaths is just 0.3 per 100k. In Australia, it’s 0.09 and 0.02 in Oman.  In Spain and Algeria, the figure is 0.11. In Switzerland where gun ownership is mandatory, gun deaths are only 0.14 per 100,000. As impressive as those numbers are, the nation with the lowest number of gun related fatalities is African nation of Zimbabwe which reported a remarkable 0.01 deaths by firearm.  

The countries with the highest deaths rates due to firearms include Ecuador, where it’s 39.5 per 100k, nearly ten times higher than the U.S. In neighboring, Mexico it’s 17.2% despite all the drug cartel reported killings. Nevertheless, the nation at the top of the corpse strewn mound is Jamacia. Once known for its tourism, Jamacia now has the dubious honor of having the most gun related deaths with a whooping 42 per 100k.

Will stricter laws reduce the number of violence crimes by gun? Perhaps. It will certainly make it tougher for law abiding citizens. Criminals, of course, will have no difficulty getting their hands on gun any time they want, but that doesn’t account for knife attacks with are on the rise.

Knives, not guns, were what took the lives of Iryna Zarutska and Dr. Julia Gard Schnuelle for instance. They were the third most often used weapon in 2023. Random attacks, particularly involving “sucker punches” (aka “coward punches”) are responsible for many of the assaults on the elderly and handicapped along with weapons of opportunity.

So, are we going to impose bans on knives or other sharp objects along with guns? What about bricks, rocks, or pointy sticks? Then too, how do we combat the rise in race based attacks, often brought on by vile racist rhetoric which serves only to promote the violence without violating the 1^st Amendment? Unless civility can be restored, the violence will only continue and grow. We are facing dangerous times not seen since the late 1850’s. We are at the point where any act, no matter how benign or unintentional, could potentially be the spark to set this nation on fire and neither side, regardless of the bravado, is prepared for the consequences. 

 

 Thank you for reading "Another Opinion", the Op/Ed blog page for the "militant middle".  Here at "A/O" we truly value our readers. At A/O we seek the facts as they exist, not partisan talking points.  We hope you find our articles informative and engaging. Comments are welcome, provided they are not vulgar, insulting or demeaning.  Another Opinion is offered without charge and is directed toward all independent and free-thinking individuals. We ask, however, that you "like" us on whatever platform you found us on in order to keep our articles available for free to others. Lastly, in order to keep costs down, we depend on passive marketing, and therefore, depend on our readers to please forward our posts along. Below you will find links to the sources we used in writing this article. Thank you. 

 

How many rape kits are awaiting testing in the US? See databy state.

America tested 100,000 forgotten rape kits. But justiceremains elusive.

End The Rape Kit Backlog

FBI: 2019 Crime in the United States

WPR: Gun Deaths per Country 2025

Gun deaths and violence in the United States by state