How often are “assault weapons” used in crime?
“Assault weapons play a part in only a small percentage of crime.” (“Hyping the Crime Bill,” Washington Post, Sept. 15, 1994) Guns are used in one-fourth of violent crimes, according to the FBI. But even when guns are used, violent crimes rarely involve an “assault weapon.” A study for Congress found that semi-autos affected by the Clinton Gun Ban “were never used in more than a modest fraction of all gun murders,” and that the ban’s 10-round limit on new ammunition magazines isn’t a factor in multiple-victim or multiple-wound crimes. A follow-up study found “gunshot injury incidents involving pistols [which use magazines] were less likely to produce a death than were those involving revolvers” and “the average number of wounds for pistol victims was actually lower than that for revolver victims.
“Assault weapons play a part in only a small percentage of crime.” (“Hyping the Crime Bill,” Washington Post, Sept. 15, 1994) Guns are used in one-fourth of violent crimes, according to the FBI. But even when guns are used, violent crimes rarely involve an “assault weapon.” A study for Congress found that semi-autos affected by the Clinton Gun Ban “were never used in more than a modest fraction of all gun murders,” and that the ban’s 10-round limit on new ammunition magazines isn’t a factor in multiple-victim or multiple-wound crimes. A follow-up study found “gunshot injury incidents involving pistols [which use magazines] were less likely to produce a death than were those involving revolvers” and “the average number of wounds for pistol victims was actually lower than that for revolver victims.” Police reports and felon surveys Firearm Use by Offenders and Guns Used In Crime: Firearms, Crime, and Criminal Justice have always shown that “assault weapons” are used in only 1%-2% of viol
