How Much Does Gun Violence Cost in Massachusetts?

By Mike Bednarsky and Charlene Arsenault (Patch staff)

Political magazine Mother Jones’ recent gun violence investigation outlines where each state stands in terms of contributing to the $229 billion nationwide cost of gun-related deaths.

With the help of researcher Ted Miller of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, the magazine came to the $229 billion estimate using 2012 data. Medical costs and court costs are among the economic impacts taken into account.

Massachusetts, with tight gun laws and relatively low gun ownership rates, boasts costs of $308 per resident. The only state with lower costs, according to the data, is Hawaii at $234. Costs in the Commonwealth are about a fifth as much of the states that pay the highest amounts.

Wayland is a community that has very little violent crime, statistically, as Chief Robert Irving points out. So its gun-related deaths is not surprising. In 2014 and 2015, there were no homicides in Wayland. Irving said one gun-related suicide did occur in the summer of 2014, when a woman shot herself in the head on Lincoln Road.

Wyoming, despite maintaining a small population, has the highest overall rate of gun deaths as well as the United States’ highest suicide rate with gun violence costs of roughly $1,400 per resident. Louisiana has the highest gun homicide rate in the nation, with costs per capita of more than $1,300. Other Bible Belt states Arkansas, Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi follow in the rankings.

Densely populated states with strict gun regulations, such as California, are lower than in the gun-violence spectrum than outspoken gun owner states like Florida. The Golden State and the Sunshine State placed 34 and 14 respectively.

Check out the video that Mother Jones included with its story:

Photo Credit: YouTube

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