Understanding the human and financial costs of gun violence in Pennsylvania
Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis hosts roundtable on gun violence prevention
Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis describes his findings from a roundtable discussion with Erie-area health officials on May 24, 2024.
(The Center Square) – The debate over gun violence prevention often revolves around constitutionality and grim crime statistics.
Although the human impact of the problem cannot be fully measured, it is possible to quantify the consequences in concrete numbers.
Mary Kenah, policy adviser for Everytown for Gun Safety, told the Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus on Monday that in an average year, 1,700 people are killed by gun violence and another 2,000 are injured.
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The human toll is high. Scott Bohn, executive director of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, cited studies that show gun violence costs the state $12.1 billion annually, of which $567.4 million is paid by taxpayers.
According to Dr. Vivek Ashok, a fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania’s Policylab, medical costs from gun violence in the United States totaled over $492 billion in 2020. About $78 billion of that total was attributable to children injured by firearms.
The average cost of hospitalizing a single child for a gunshot wound is $35,000, not including follow-up visits, most of which are covered by Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, victims of gun violence are more likely to suffer from PTSD, anxiety disorders and other mental health disorders, which place additional strain on the health care system.
Overall, the number of gun violence cases in Pennsylvania is declining. However, Bohn says the statistics can be misleading. Violence reached unprecedented highs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of that pandemic, there was an increase in guns in U.S. homes, which was accompanied by major social and economic stressors.
The numbers are still above pre-pandemic levels, Bohn said.
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The committee focused its questions on what law enforcement and community organizations need to do to continue this downward trend. Lawmakers asked how they could impact gun violence and what actions could be taken.
Advocates like Adam Garber, executive director of CeasefirePA, say improving the efficiency of data collection could go a long way toward solving the problem.
In many cases, groups work with statistics and records from previous years and move between systems and structures to find them. Improving the speed and breadth of information sharing would have a big impact and better enable law enforcement to take action.
According to Kenah, existing laws have proven to be extremely effective when properly enforced. For example, Pennsylvania’s state law, which took effect in 2018 and required people convicted of domestic violence to surrender their firearms, has resulted in guns being removed from 85% of offenders’ homes.
More: Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis stresses that $100 million will be invested in reducing gun violence
She highlighted two issues that she said could save thousands of lives if addressed properly. The first is Extreme Risk Protection Orders — often called Red Flag Laws — which allow law enforcement to temporarily take away guns from people who pose an imminent danger to themselves or others.
Red flag laws have been passed in 21 states. According to Kenah, Connecticut’s suicide rate fell by 14% in the year after passage. In California, 58 mass shootings were prevented between 2016 and 2018.
Critics say red flag laws violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. Hearings on protective orders are held in the absence of the gun owner, raising further concerns.
Kenah also supports a ban on ghost guns and universal background checks. Currently, residents only have to undergo a background check when purchasing a handgun. Requiring electronic records would also allow for faster data sharing.
“I think it’s pretty obvious that our caucus is leaning in the same direction on this issue,” said Democratic Rep. Christina Sappey of Kennett Square.
She noted, however, that gun rights advocates oppose data recording whenever it comes to data collection, saying it is an invasion of privacy.
Bohn dismissed the criticism as nothing more than mere “talking points.”
“The primary duty of every elected official is public safety,” he said.
The economic impact of the gun industry also remains a matter of debate. According to the Firearm Industry Trade Association, the industry and its employees pay more than $10.9 billion in taxes each year. Gun rights lobbyists spent nearly $16 million in 2021 to influence American politics.
In 2022, gun violence prevention groups spent nearly $3 million on political campaigns, with Everytown for Gun Safety contributing nearly half.
