There are an estimated 500 million firearms in circulation in the U.S., and anti-gunners believe this to be the root of all evil.
Then there’s the fact that 29 states have adopted constitutional carry, meaning tens of millions of law-abiding citizens no longer must crawl to the government for permission to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
Add that firearm sales exploded during the lockdowns and unrest of 2020 and beyond. According to gun rights opponents, this should be the perfect storm for an explosion in violent crime nationwide.
Wrong.
US is experiencing an unparalleled plunge in violent crime—even as gun rights increase
A new study released by the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) put hard numbers on the precipitous drop in crime last year. Just how radical a change does the data demonstrate?
According to the study, of the 13 serious offenses tracked, 11 dropped in 2025. Nine of those categories with declines fell by more than 10%, with only drug offense rising by 7% and sexual assaults remaining steady.
The numbers are startling for homicides.
Nation’s homicide rate likely hit a historic low in 2025
For the 35 study cities, reported murders fell by 21% year-over-year. That translates to 922 fewer homicides in those municipalities, and the numbers are good, almost across the board.
If the murder rate holds at about 4.0 per 100,000 residents, it would mark the lowest total since 1900!
Aggravated assaults fell by 9%, and there were 22% fewer gun assaults and 23% less robberies. Carjacking, a criminal trend that exploded in recent years, plunged a whopping 43%.
As for property crimes, motor vehicle theft dropped 24% in the studied locations, residential burglaries fell 17%, and shoplifting incidents dropped 10%.
The CCJ report noted that the FBI will release official numbers gleaned from national data later this year. As for now, every indication is that 2025 was a banner year for law enforcement—and law-abiding citizens defending themselves and their loved ones.
Overall, violent crime is now at or below the 2019 levels enjoyed before the Covid outbreak and social justice protests.
The intriguing report does not make assumptions about the causes of the sharp drop in violence and goes to great lengths to assert its neutrality.
“The declines in crime, especially homicide, are promising, and are likely the result of a complex tangle of broad social and technological changes and direct policy interventions,” the study concluded. “Determining a cause for the decline requires a rigorous examination of the data. This report is not evidence of a policy’s success or failure; it simply documents recent crime trends from a sample of large U.S. cities.”
True, but the positive trend did not emerge from a vacuum.
Instead, 2025 was a year that witnessed a dramatic turnaround in Washington’s position on Second Amendment issues. The new and improved Department of Justice is far from perfect, but there is no question of a marked change in the federal government’s stance on gun issues.
Add to that the fact that tens of millions of Americans enjoy constitutional carry rights, and many regularly carry as part of their daily routine. This fact is not lost on violent criminals, as the year was filled with incidents of good guys with guns stepping up to defend themselves and others.
The report’s conclusion was correct. There is much to learn from these raw numbers, and there are likely many contributing factors to the drop in violent crime.
But one thing is sure. As more Americans exercise their Second Amendment rights, the result of an increase in guns in circulation and greater freedom to carry them is the exact opposite of what anti-gunners shamelessly preach.
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