Context:

A Crime Prevention Research Center study finds AR-15/AK-47 ownership has surged to a new high—about 10.2% by 2025—while murders committed with rifles have continued to fall, down to 2.67% of all gun-murder incidents since 1994. The data suggest a decoupling between rifle ownership and rifle-murder rates, noting that the peak in rifle murders occurred during 1994–2004, the period of the federal assault weapons ban. Additional data indicate that stabbings and other knives account for far more deaths than rifles, and that rifles overall accounted for roughly four percent of gun murders in 2023. The piece frames these trends as context for ongoing debates over weapon classifications and policy, signaling a need for careful interpretation of ownership versus violence measurements and future policy discussions.

Dive Deeper:

• CPRC attributes a rise in AR-15/AK-47 ownership from about 1% at the end of the federal assault weapons ban to 10.2% in 2025, indicating a roughly tenfold increase in ownership.

• Despite this growth, the share of murders carried out with rifles declined from 4.8% in 1994 to 2.67% in 2025, suggesting no simple link between higher ownership and higher rifle-murder rates.

• The article notes that the peak of rifle murders occurred between 1994 and 2004, a period that overlapped with the ban, implying complex dynamics beyond ownership levels.

• Breitbart and others cited FBI data showing that knife and other cutting tools caused more deaths than rifles in 2021, and that stabbing deaths exceeded rifle deaths in 2020, underscoring broader violence patterns.

• PEW Research data referenced in 2023 indicate rifles of all kinds accounted for about four percent of U.S. gun murders, framing rifle violence as a relatively small share of total gun fatalities.

• The piece presents AWR Hawkins as a Breitbart columnist and media figure, highlighting his affiliations and role in disseminating Second Amendment perspectives.

• Overall, the article positions the findings as context for ongoing policy debates, suggesting ownership growth does not straightforwardly translate into higher rifle-related homicide rates and calling for nuanced interpretation.