Moneycontrol News

Firearm-related injuries in the US result in an annual financial burden of approximately Rs 18,354 crore in just hospital charges. Collectively, if we consider lost work, health care costs, criminal justice claims, and decreased quality of life, it costs in tune of Rs 11.4 lakh crore to the country. This is more than three times the defence budget of India.

According to a research report published hours after the mass shooting which killed 59 people in Las Vegas, in nine years till 2014, American hospitals admitted 704,916 alive patients in Emergency Department with gunshot wounds. Among these more than one-third were seriously injured and admitted to inpatient care. 8.3 percent of the patients died during the process.

According to the most recent US government data available, guns in the US took 36,594 lives and accounted for 17 percent of all injury-related deaths in the country. Comparatively, in India, 3,655 people died from gun violence in 2014, i.e., one-tenth of the US.

The mass shooting in Las Vegas in the US has regenerated the debates around lax gun laws in the country. “Although future research is warranted to better understand firearm-related injuries, policymakers might consider implementing universal background checks for firearm purchases and limiting access to firearms for people with a history of violence or previous convictions to reduce the clinical and financial burden associated with these injuries,” the research report said.

India has one of the most stringent gun laws in the world, on the other hand, citizens in the US are constitutionally allowed to possess firearms. Incidentally, the state of Nevada where Las Vegas lies has one of the least restrictive gun laws in the country.