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Note that many cases of rape are not reported or the charges are withdrawn for various reasons.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

 

Gun Violence in America: Race, Reform and Freedom

 American seem increasingly terrified of the upcoming November elections regardless of the outcome. If the "Trumpsters" win, the fear is mass riots by the Far Left worse than when won Trump in 2020. If the Democrats win, the concern is another "January 6th" on steroids. One indication is the fact that Americans are arming themselves like never before. 

Case in point, in 1999 just 26% of Americans owned a firearm for self-protection. Today that number is  80%. One professor, Dr. David Yamane of Wake Forest University equated the uptick to the radical change in cultural values, which is something not seen to this degree since the late 1960's and early 1970's.

A recent Pew poll showed that 40% of households had at least one firearm in the house. 45% of Republicans and conservative leaning Independents owned a weapon while just 20% of Democrats or liberal leaning Independents did. When it came to gender, 40% of males owned a gun compared to 25% of women.

When we look at race, Americans of European origin made up 38% of gun ownership. Black Americans comprise 34% of gun ownership. Meanwhile, the nation's largest minority, Hispanics, made up 20% of the ownership. Asians were just 10% of gun owners. The reason most often cited by 72% gun owners for the reason they owned a firearm was self protection of person and property. 62% say they use their firearm mostly for hunting or sport. 15% claim they simply collect weapons of various sort. Lastly 7% it's a part of their job (such as security guard).

What type of guns do most Americans own? 72% of gun owners have a pistol/handgun. 62% have a rifle of some sort (including lever action and semi-automatics like an AR15). Finally, 54% own a shotgun (either single or double barreled). It bears mentioning that  58% of Americans in general favor tighter gun control laws. 26% believe current laws are about where we need to be, and 17% think that current gun laws are too restrictive.

Where do most of these gun owners live? Not surprising is that the majority---47%---live in the country where a firearm is commonly used for a wide variety of reasons such as hunting, protection against snakes and dangerous animals as well as theft of personal property and livestock as well as self protection.  Suburban neighborhoods, which comprise mostly Middle Class families and individuals, make up 30% of gun owners. 20% of those who own a firearm line in urban areas.

When it comes to the 2nd Amendment and the right to bear arms without restrictions, the percentages are quite low. The majority of gun owners regardless of political "affliction" said they believe that there should be some form of restrictions. For instance, respondents favor legislation to prevent those with some form of mental illness to own a firearm in near equal measure. 88% for conservatives and 89% for liberals.

What about carrying a concealed weapon without a permit? 60% of Republicans say no while 91% of Democrats agree.  When it comes to military styled weapons (which are typically semi-automatic deigned to look like a military grade firearm) as well as high capacity magazine clips (clips which hold more than eight rounds), the difference between ideologies becomes crystal clear. 81% of Democrats and those who lean liberal oppose both. 

In addition, there are now 17 states which no longer require a permit to carry a firearm---Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Some states, such as New Hampshire is expected to pass a law to allow residents to have a loaded gun in the car provided the car is locked when unoccupied and the weapons is not readily visible.

So, where does gun violence most often occur? Globally, the U.S. is the overwhelming leader when it comes to gun related deaths. at 12.1% per 100,000. The next highest is Finland with 3.25% per 100,000. Canada's rate was 2.05%. Japan had the lowest rate of gun related deaths at 0.06%.

States with the highest rate of gun violence tend to take place in "blue states", that is, states controlled by Democrats, especially in the South. Mississippi is the worse state when it comes to gun violence at nearly 30% per 100,000. Louisiana is next with 28.2% per 100,000. Rhode Island was the safest state with just 3.1%.

When it comes to cities, Pueblo, Colorado was the worse city for gun violence with a murder rate of 119% over the previous year, is a moderate size city with a population of about 112,000. As an aside,  Pueblo has a racial makeup is 71.78% white, 12.36% mixed race, 9.26% listed as "other" and 3.14% Native American. Perhaps of more significance is the poverty rate, which stands of 16%.6. The unemployment level is 7% which are known to affect crime levels.

Pueblo was closely followed by Amarillo, Texas, which has a population just over 200,000, at 117%. Next on this shameful list is Lansing, Michigan. It has 112% rate of gun related deaths. Lansing has a surprisingly low population of 112,500. Whites make up just half the population with 52.6%. Blacks comprise 23% while mixed race is 6.03%. Hispanics are 5.52% of the residents and Asians are  4.93%. Lansing's poverty rate is 20%, which far exceeds the national average of 12.5%. It's unemployment rate is 3.90%.

Austin, Texas, with a population of 974,400, has been shown to have a gun violence rate of 86%. Rounding out the top five of this nefarious list at 77% is Fayetteville, North Carolina and its population of just under 209,000.  Their unemployment rate  is 5.2%, and poverty level of 18.7%, both of which are higher than the national average.

Other cities with higher than average gun related deaths include St. Louis, Missouri, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana,  Jackson, Mississippi, Birmingham, Alabama, Baltimore, Maryland and Cleveland Ohio. Cities like Louisville, Kentucky, Memphis, Tennessee, West Palm Beach, Florida, Columbia and North Charlestown, South Carolina and Atlanta Georgia have higher levels of gun deaths relative to their population size. 58% of Americans say they've either personally experienced some form of gun violence or know someone who has.

In examining percentages of gun related deaths, we unsurprisingly find 66% are homicides. 32% are suicides and 3% are accidental.   It's worth mentioning that among the suicides, 16.9% were known to have some form of medically diagnosed mental illness at the time of their death and one person per day accidentally dies by a firearm (the most common form of accidental death was while cleaning their gun). 

Native Americans and Alaskan Natives have the highest percentage of suicide of any racial group. The root cause is believed to be extreme poverty coupled with drug and alcohol abuse.  Should we be surprised that around 50% of Americans admit being anxious when firearms are present? 36% said they or someone they know will be exposed to a gun related crime in their lifetime.

When we delve further into homicides, we find that Black Americans have the highest statistical rates of firearm related deaths at 8 times the national average (on average, just slightly under 10,000 blacks die of gun violence every year.  

The police have shot and killed more whites than any other racial group in terms of raw numbers. However, Black Americans are shot and killed at a higher percentage relative the size of their population. They are  followed by Hispanics and finally other racial groups.

To put it in further perspective, blacks comprise just 13% of the U.S. population while owning 24% of all guns. However, 60% of all gun related deaths are Black-Americans. When compared to the largest minority population, Hispanics, blacks die at a rate 11.5% more often than Hispanics. 83% of deaths among Black Americans are gun related. If blacks don't think back lives matter, why should the rest of America? 

Black youth of either gender die much more often due to gun violence than any other racial population. From birth to age 17, black youth die at a rate of 7.87% per 100,000 compared to whites and other racial groups of the same age, the death rate is 0.58%. From ages 18 through 24, their death rate is sickening 58.78%. For everyone else, it's roughly 3.10%.

From 25 to 39, the percentage of black deaths by gun violence is 42.35%. Other racial groups have an average of 3.21%. Finally, blacks 40 and over, their death rate is 11.5% per 100,000. For everyone else it's 1.78%. The average across all age brackets for Black Americans is 21.05%. For everyone else it's 1.93%

When we break down by gender, we find that black males are far more likely to die by gun violence than black females. If we group together all age brackets, black males have a death by firearm percentage of 40.09% compared to other races which have a death rate of 2.77%. The highest death rate among black males is between ages 18 and 24, While Hispanics, whites, Asians, and other races have a 4.59 death rate percentage, the death rate among black males is a horrific 104.07%!

Even when you look at older age groups, the percentage of gun related deaths for black males far exceed their population percentage. For age 19 up to 39, it's barely under 80%! Other racial groups show a 5.02% rate. You would expect that late middle age men would do better. Guess again.

Blacks males 40 and over have a gun related death rate of 20.42% per 100,000 compared to 2.48% for males of other races. It bares mentioning that 85% of all gun related murders of blacks were committed by other blacks, and while white on white gun rated murders have increased. Roughly 84% of whites are killed other whites, yet black on black homicides are roughly 93%.  A interesting aside mentioned in a Department of Justice report states that 52% of victims are familiar with their murderer. 

Politicians (mostly Democrat) have been promising serious gun law reforms for decades. Several such as Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have said they would "go door to door" if they had to taking away people's guns. Even 2024 Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, has promised serious gun law reform, making it more difficult to buy or own a firearm. Of course, that's great for a sound bite on nightly news and aimed as invigorating the anti-gun crowd, that's neither realistic or likely ever to happen.

Many Americans are willing to accept tighter guns laws in order to keep firearms out of the hands of people most likely to cause harm such as the mentally unstable, drug addicts, and so forth. But as the old adage goes, "when guns are taken away, only criminals will have guns". It will be like fat sheep being guarded by hungry wolves.  

Besides, Americans have had a love affair with guns since the founding of this nation. They are part of our national fabric like freedom of speech, assembly, or the right to vote (not that it does us any good), Nevertheless, 89% of Americans agree there should be mandatory background checks without exception.

66% of Americans favor laws to allow the Feds to track gun sales (which means keeping records so they'll know who owns what). I understand the reason behind such a law, but to me that seems to violate our right to privacy. 64% want to ban high capacity magazines which hold more than 10 rounds. Proponents say there is no reason for anyone to shoot more than 10 rounds. Opponents point out that it's no one's business how many rounds they shoot.

Another 63% want to ban "assault weapons" all together. I suspect that most of these individuals have little idea what a "assault weapon" actually is. A so-called "assault weapons" is merely a semi-auto rifle like any other used in hunting or recreational shooting. The one key difference is that the stock has been changed to give it a "military" style. It just makes it look "cooler". It is not a military grade weapon.

So, when they say they want to ban "assault weapons", in reality  they mean any rifle other than a single shot bolt action rifle. I suppose they'd like to see us return to Colonial era black power flint locks too.  It's more likely they want to ban any add-on mechanisms or devices which can convert a rifle or other firearm into something approaching a full automatic such as was used by the 2017 mass murderer, Stephen Paddock, in Las Vegas where he killed 60 individuals and injured 413 more. At the time Paddock was using something called a "bump stock" which used the gun's recoil to continue firing. While it came too late for the victims, the 'bump stock" and similar devices have been banned.

There is no question tighter laws should be considered, but first existing laws to be enforced and extended to include gun shows where used guns can be bought with no background check. Transactions between individuals could be conducted using a intermediary such as a licensed gun store dealer.  It would be a little harder on both buyer and seller, but with proper ID, sellers could do a electronic background check. I'm sure everyone would agree that the minor inconvenience would be worth a possible life lost.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, attitudes toward gun violence must change, especially among those who've come to believe the only way to settle a disagreement is through violence. These people need to accept that all life has value, even those you disagree with. That people are murdered for  chump change makes no sense. Stealing someone's car or breaking into a house is placing more value on their stuff than your own life. Gun violence is the first choice of the weak and ultimately solves absolutely nothing. 

 

 If you enjoyed the article, please consider passing it along to others and don't forget to subscribe. It's free! Lastly please be sure to "like" us on whatever platform you use to read anotheropinionblog.com. It helps beat the algorithms and keeps our articles in circulation. Thank you!

DOJ: Limits on Gun Ownership May Result in Tyranny...

Key facts about Americans and guns

Permitless Carry of Guns: A State By State Analysis

Americans are arming up, study says

Homicide Rates by Race and the Medhi Hasan Controversy

DOJ: Black on Black Homicide---A Psychological PoliticalPerspective

The Disproportionate Impact of Gun Violence on BlackAmericans

Gun Violence Statistics 2024 ---  By Country, City, Demographics, Type Murder Rate and Intent