Universal Background Checks: Let the Numbers Talk
CHELSEA DAVIS
Universal background checks are controversial even within the gun community. The debate as to whether they are worth the government’s time and taxpayer’s money contains loads of grey area.
Recently, some relevant numbers surfaced from research by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics. The following statistics from official reports reveal some truth about universal background checks for firearms purchasers.
The DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that an average of 232,400 firearms are stolen each year, based on data from 2005 through 2010. Eighty percent are never recovered.
(Source)
As for gun crimes, the numbers add up very closely.
In 2013…
- 125,366 robbery gun crimes in the U.S. occurred.
- For aggravated assault with a gun, there were 146,045 gun crimes.
- For murder, there were 8,438 gun crimes.
These numbers add up to 279,849.
Assuming each gun was only used in one crime, that leaves 47,449 firearms stolen that were not used in crime. However, it is highly unlikely that 279,849 criminals only used their gun in one crime and then disposed of it. Assuming only half of them used their stolen gun twice before disposing of it, that covers the 47,449 crimes — …read more
Source:: Gun News
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