The magazine Mother Jones is conducting an on-going investigation on how much money gun violence is costing the country. The say the U.S. spends about $229 billion a year (a compilation of healthcare for shooting survivors, criminal trial costs, prison costs, etc.) in dealing with the aftermaths of homicides, suicide and mass shootings.
Arizona is near the top—number 19 on the list. Per capita, the state spends about $831, according to 2012 data.
Wyoming takes the cake—although expenses total $805,592,000, per capita the number is $1,397. The report summarizes findings from other states:
Louisiana has the highest gun homicide rate in the nation, with costs per capita of more than $1,300. Among the four most populous states, the costs per capita in the gun rights strongholds of Florida and Texas outpace those in more strictly regulated California and New York. Hawaii and Massachusetts, with their relatively low gun ownership rates and tight gun laws, have the lowest gun death rates, and costs per capita roughly a fifth as much as those of the states that pay the most.
From the special investigation by Jones’ Mark Follman, Julia Lurie, Jaeah Lee and James West:
To begin to get a grasp on the economic toll, Mother Jones turned to Ted Miller at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, an independent nonprofit that studies public health, education, and safety issues. Miller has been one of the few researchers to delve deeply into guns, going back to the late 1980s when he began analyzing societal costs from violence, injury, and substance abuse, as well as the savings from prevention. Most of his 30-plus years of research has been funded by government grants and contracts; his work on guns in recent years has either been tucked into broader projects or done on the side. “I never take positions on legislation,” he notes. “Instead, I provide numbers to inform decision making.”
This article appears in Apr 16-22, 2015.
How much money and how many lives does legal gun ownership protect each year? Mother Jones doing a study?
That ought to be fair and balanced…..
Another crock from this blogger and a dubious source Mother Jones, give us a break. Only $ 5 million ? To include Healthcare,. prosecutions and imprisonment? And her sresponse is to take away gun rights for all Arizonans, US citizens? These criminals will still have them and we will not if these control freaks have their way… So the costs will be the same and we all suffer. Perhaps we should turn over the country to the cartels and crims. Oh we already have, to Obama and community organizers.
Rat T I don’t think that will happen since we all know that liberals hate guns and Joe you are so right.
I wonder if she did a study between cars and guns, who would come out ahead? Gun can be deadly weapons in anyone’s hands. Look at cars, we’re all licenced and insured, but it doesn’t stop the carnage on the roads. There is no simple, or legislative answer.
I wonder what illegal immigration costs.
Illegal immigration costs a lot more. And is mostly preventable. But the weekly is all for it.
Still, it’s foolish to pooh-pooh gun violence and immediately jump to the extreme conclusion that someone is ‘gonna take your guns’. 5 million sounds *very* low. Just one treatment for a serious gunshot wound could cost upwards of half a million.
Interesting, can they tell you how much we have saved in medical costs from people who defended them selves with guns? Prevented assaults rapes and murders?
Mother Jones ? Right up there with Rolling Stone when it comes to factual reporting.
Quite a compelling argument for eliminating socialized medicine and repealing EMTALA.
Why not consider the savings associated when a firearm is used to thwart crime? Maybe it is too hard to figure out how much a gun owners life is worth????
And all this is caused by legal gun owners?
Democrats could not right a Real Gun/Crime Law if somebody slapped them in the face with a Gun.
Hey, Democrats how about passing a Law, When a crime is committed with a Gun, Put the Death Penalty on the table, if a Person is Killed, Make the Death Penalty is Automatic if found Guilty.