Top Pro & Con Arguments
Pro
Gun control laws would reduce the societal costs associated with gun violence.
The more than 100,000 people shot in the United States each year generate emergency room and hospital charges of nearly $3 billion. [163] A study in the American Journal of Public Health estimated that hospitalizations for firearm-related injuries cost Medicaid and Medicare $2.7 billion over nine years. [21] A study in the American Journal of Public Health estimated that hospitalizations for firearm-related injuries cost Medicaid and Medicare $2.7 billion over nine years. [22] 84% of those injured by firearms are uninsured, leaving taxpayers responsible for most of those bills through programs like Medicaid. [23][24][25][26] According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the costs of gun violence can include legal services, medical costs, perpetrator control, policing, incarceration, foster care, private security, lost earnings and time, life insurance, productivity, tourism, and psychological costs (pain and suffering), among others. [25] Homicide rates doubling has been associated with a 12.5% decline in property values. [25]
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