make any item used in crime an assault weapon. Ban all knives and blunt items such as batons, hammers and crowbars.

129,741 murders were reported in the U.S. from 2000-2008 as classified by the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. Of these, 22,329 (or 17%) were committed using different forms of knives and blunt items such as bats, hammers and crowbars. During the same time period, only 3,791 (or 3%) of murders were committed using rifles and 4,356 (again, 3%) of murders were committed with shotguns. Combined, a person is 3 times more likely to die from a knife than a rifle or shotgun.