Results: Which do you think is responsible for more deaths in America?

If someone were to ask you - which is responsible for more deaths in the United States - assault rifles or knives - which would you say?

You may be surprised to know that knives actually kill far more people in the United States than rifles do every year. Does this fact surprise you?

In the wake of some recent school shootings, the debate over guns in America has surged again to the forefront of the political conversation. Seventeen students were killed when a deranged gunman rampaged through the Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida last year, as one example. Many are calling now for stricter gun laws in the wake of the shooting, specifically targeting the AR-15 rifle and promoting the reinstatement of the assault weapons ban. However, recent statistics from 2016 show that knives actually kill nearly five times as many people as rifles that year. Does it surprise you that nearly 5x as many people are killed from knife assaults than firearms?

Do these facts lead you to believe the possibility that banning firearms will not solve the problem of violence in US communities?

According to the FBI, 1,604 people were killed by "knives and cutting instruments" and 374 were killed by "rifles" in 2016. But for those quick to claim that those stats are just from one year, the statistics match the trends seen in previous years, which show knife murders far outnumbering rifle statistics. In 2013, knives were used to kill 1,490 and rifles were used to kill 285. Do you think there is too much focus on banning assault weapons (or weapons of any kind) when the focus needs to be put on the individuals committing the crimes - instead of the tools that they use?