By MARC McDONALD
Since the story of Dick Cheney shooting and wounding a man is dominating the current news cycle, I thought it'd be helpful to take a look at how all American taxpayers are forced to cough up the staggering costs of gunshot injuries in the U.S.
The fact is, U.S. taxpayers are forced to pay at least 80 percent of the annual $14 billion costs of gunshot injuries, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Needless to say, in the vast majority of gunshot injury cases, the victims aren't covered by insurance.
Gun injuries are the second leading cause of injury death in the U.S. and have killed more than 30,000 Americans every year since 1972, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
An insurance analysis published in the publication Accident Analysis and Prevention estimates that the mean medical cost per non-fatal gunshot injury is about $17,000.
Gun rights supporters invariably portray themselves as good, law-abiding citizens who want nothing more than the right to keep their precious guns. "We're not hurting anybody, so leave us and our guns alone," is their message.
But of course, it's not that simple. The fact is, we all pay heavily in countless ways for gun violence in this country.
The Brady Campaign estimates that that the total direct and indirect costs of gun violence in America amounts to a staggering $100 billion per year.
If you'd like to learn how to stop the insanity of gun violence in America, check out these Web sites:
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5 comments:
Repukes claim to support the right of communities and local governments to decide how to govern their own affairs. And yet the GOP doesn't hesitate to back intrusive Federal laws that prohibit cities from filing suit against gun makers. The hypocrisy is astonishing.
Gun rights supporters say that the 2nd Amendment clearly states the right of everyone to "bear arms." Actually, the 2nd Amendment is quite vague. Constitutional scholars have been debating its meaning for 200 years. Right-wing yahoos arrogantly claim that they know exactly what its meaning is. And yet, these retards don't even know what the amendment says. Don't believe me? You could stand outside of a typical NRA convention and randomly ask attendees to quote the 2nd Amendment. I'd bet money that the vast majority wouldn't be able to do this (despite the fact the 2nd Amendment is only one---admittedly confusing---sentence).
Does anyone recall when George H.W. Bush resigned from the NRA after the latter sent out a letter comparing federal agents to Nazis? So, does this make Bush Sr. a "liberal" since the NRA is too radical for him?
The NRA has been fighting for the right to legally own extremely powerful 50-caliber rifles (which are capable of taking down a jetliner). So terrorists can easily walk into a gun shop and buy such a weapon these days, while grandmothers are being subjected to strip-searches at airports. Hmmmm.
I can't fathom how any police officer could join the NRA, an organization that has worked hard to keep legal "teflon" bullets that are specifically designed to penetrate bullet proof vest worn by cops.
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