Myth: Every 48 Hours, An Analysis Of Assault Rifles Traced To Crime In Maryland
Fact: This claim by Cease Fire Maryland includes firearms never used in crimes. Some examples of firearms traced include:
• 47 firearms found at private residence of a person who passed-away from natural causes, and which were never used in any crime.
• Firearms temporarily taken from owners under court Emergency Evaluation Petitions (the firearms were not used in crimes, but the judge wanted them confiscated until other issues are resolved).
7 Targeting Guns, Gary Kleck, Aldine Transaction, 1997, compilation of 48 metropolitan police departments from 1980-1994
8 Targeting Guns, Gary Kleck, Aldine Transaction, 1997, calculated from Bureau of Justice Statistics, assault weapon recovery rates
9 From statewide recovery report from Connecticut (1988-1993) and Pennsylvania (1989-1994)
10 Criminal Justice Research Center, Department of Criminal Justice Services, 1994
11 House Panel Issue: Can Gun Ban Work, New York Times. April 7, 1989. P. A-15, quoting Philip McGuire, Handgun Control, Inc.,
12 Impacts of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban: 1994-96, National Institute of Justice, March 1999 Gun Facts Version 5.1 Page 2
Myth: One out of five police officers killed are killed with assault weapons13
Fact: This “study” included firearms not on the former Federal “assault weapons” list. Including various legal firearms14 inflated the statistics almost 100%.
Fact: Only 1% of police officers murdered were killed using “assault weapons.” They were twice as likely to be killed with their own handgun.15
Fact: One 2006 federal government study found zero “assault weapons” were used to kill cops.16
Myth: Assault weapons are favored by criminals
Fact: Only 8% of criminals use anything that is classified (even incorrectly) as an “assault weapon,”17 though less than 1% claimed to use these firearms when committing crimes.18
Fact: Criminals are as likely to carry single shot (derringer) handguns as they are to carry “assault weapons.”19
Fact: “Assault rifles have never been an issue in law enforcement. I have been on this job for 25 years and I haven’t seen a drug dealer carry one. They are not used in crimes, they are not used against police officers.”20
Fact: “Since police started keeping statistics, we now know that ‘assault weapons’ are/were used in an underwhelming 0.026 of 1% of crimes in New Jersey. This means that my officers are more likely to confront an escaped tiger from the local zoo than to confront an assault rifle in the hands of a drug-crazed killer on the streets.”21
Thoughts: “Assault weapons” are large and unwieldy. Even misclassified handguns tend to be bigger than practical for concealed carry. Criminals (who, incidentally, disregard concealed carry laws) are unlikely to carry “assault weapons.”
13 This claim was made by the anti-gun Violence Policy Center in their 2003 report titled Officer Down
14 The “study” included legal models of the SKS, Ruger Mini-14, and M1-Carbine, which were all in circulation before the federal “assault weapons” ban and which were excluded from the ban.
15 Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, FBI, 1994
16 Violent Encounters: A Study of Felonious Assaults on Our Nation’s Law Enforcement Officers, U.S. Department of Justice, August 2006
17 Firearm Use by Offenders , Bureau of Justice Statistics, November 2001
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid
20 Deputy Chief of Police Joseph Constance, Trenton NJ, testimony - Senate Judiciary Committee in Aug 1993
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