another cost of illegal gun violence

[Glia]

We know the devastating toll gun violence takes on families and communities across America. Every day, it robs us of 34 more lives.

But now we also know what violent crime costs our nation’s economy in dollars and cents. And it’s staggering: $200 billion every year.1

That's enough to send 2.3 million students through college, or employ 5 million workers to improve our infrastructure.

In a groundbreaking new study, top economic advisors to Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush found that reducing violent crime by even a few percentage points would save taxpayers millions -- and boost property values by billions.

With firearms being used in nearly 7 in 10 homicides, ending access to illegal guns is critical. It won’t just save lives. It will help boost our economy.



The new study reveals that reducing homicides by just 10 percent would drastically increase overall home values -- from as much as $600 million in Jacksonville, Florida all the way up to $4.4 billion in the Boston area.

Thanks for helping get the word out,
Mayors Against Illegal Guns

[1] “The Economic Benefits of Reducing Violent Crime.” Center For American Progress, June 19, 2012.

[Dixon]

Kirsten, I'd agree that a decrease in gun violence is highly desirable, but am concerned that many people feel that gun control will decrease gun violence, when in fact, from what I've seen, the research seems to indicate that the opposite is true; gun violence tends to increase when gun control laws are tightened and, conversely, to decrease when laws such as "right to carry" laws are passed, apparently because criminals are more afraid to rob, rape or otherwise assault citizens when they think those citizens are likely to be armed. I don't own a gun myself and have little interest in them, but cannot support most gun control laws unless they're targeted specifically to keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals without infringing the right of harmless folks to own guns for self-protection or recreation. My cursory perusal of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns FB page didn't make it clear whether they're just targeting violent criminals or are overreaching, but I suspect the latter. Here's a link to some useful and interesting factual data on gun violence and gun control:
https://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp