With another shooting rampage Oregon’s Umpqua Community College on October 1st, gun violence is yet again a popular topic globally. With 10 people dead including the killer, the issue of gun control and laws is yet again at the forefront. The issue is that America has a gun violence problem, and they seem unable and unwilling to solve it. For instance, no one from the Republican party is prepared to take a stand against these weapons. When Jeb Bush was recently asked about gun violence in America, he replied that “this kind of stuff happens.”
The one thing that people often leave out when thinking about a tragedy like this is the strain this puts on the economy. The total cost on gun violence in The United States exceeds $229 billion, which is more than the US government spends on obesity. This total includes costs for emergency services, police investigations, long term medical and mental healthcare, court, prison costs, lost income, losses to employers and the impact on quality of life. Not to mention the loss of life for the families and communities affected. Single gun homicide costs $400,000 for which Americans pay for 32 times per day. Even for events such as gun seminars and gun safety classes to prevent gun violence, it adds up to be mass amounts of spending for the US economy.
All things considered, personally myself and a lot of moral people would agree that guns needs to be illegal and banned in America, and thorough background checks need to be done on those wishing to have a gun in their possession. But on the flip side, one must consider the fact that if guns are illegal, an entire industry in the US economy would go out of business. Countless people are employed through the gun industry, and this would also cause a strain on the economy. For these reasons, this is why there is such a huge debate on guns and weapons in the United States. The second amendment in the US constitution gives Americans the right to bear arms. This does not necessarily mean assault weapons, automatic weapons or multiple round hand guns. When you consider the numbers, over 10,000 Americans are killed by gun violence every year, and this number will continue to rise if nothing is done about this issue. Even with the loss of a whole economic sector, the lives lost are far more valuable, and the costs associated with this kind of violence is far too great.