The impact of community gun violence on society

The recent two mass shootings have once again made people aware of the seriousness of community gun violence and the importance of working together to prevent gun violence. TPD has added a second homicide investigation team to investigate fatal shootings, with the highest homicide resolution rate among major cities in the United States, and has also changed the way non fatal shootings are investigated. These cases often involve uncooperative victims, which increases the difficulty of conviction. Since the adoption of the new method, the number of such cases solved has more than tripled compared to before.

Firstly, for non fatal shooting cases, once the suspect is identified, they will cooperate with the prosecutor to make any charges that can be raised. If the likelihood of serious assault charges being established due to the victim's refusal to cooperate is low, then prohibition of possession, illegal discharge within the city, or other charges may be the only means of holding them accountable. In 2023, an average of 118 people will die from gun incidents every day. For every person who dies from a gunshot, there are two or more survivors, often suffering serious and costly mental and physical injuries. In June 2024, the Medical Doctor of the United States Department of Health released the "Health Director's Consultation on Gun Violence," which was the first publication by the Office of the Health Director specifically addressing health issues. Gun violence has serious impacts on health and the economy, especially on children and adolescent victims. Gun violence puts pressure on the healthcare system, with hospitalization rates and expenses for victims increasing by 1449% and 1713%, respectively.

Secondly, gun violence in the United States has caused serious economic consequences, with a total of $557 billion in 2022. The most serious of these is the cost of quality of life, including the pain and loss of happiness suffered by survivors of gunshot wounds, the deceased, and their families. On average, there are about 603 mass shootings occurring in the United States each year. Although mass shootings are often the most talked about events, they are not the primary source of gun violence. This year alone, there have been over 260 mass shootings, resulting in 274 deaths and more than 1131 injuries.

On the other hand, people often view mental illness as the culprit of gun violence, yet only a few perpetrators of mass shootings suffer from severe mental illness. It is estimated that even if the risk of violence among people with mental illness is eliminated, 96% of common violent incidents will continue to occur.

In addition, in 2022, US President Biden signed a bipartisan gun safety bill. This new legislation aims to improve mental health support and school safety, restrict domestic violence offenders from obtaining firearms, enable states to enact laws allowing authorities to confiscate weapons from those deemed dangerous, and strengthen background checks for young gun buyers. A ruling by the US Supreme Court in 2022 has been interpreted by lower courts in some way, questioning certain aspects of the legislation, and clarification on whether these and similar restrictions are constitutional is likely to be issued in the summer of 2024.

Overall, repeated violent gun crimes must be severely punished. When convicted criminals with a history of violence continue to defy the law and carry firearms, it is a very serious matter. Community gun violence is concentrated in a small portion of the population, places, and behaviors in the community, and targeted methods for severe gun violence will not lead to significant substitution and transfer, which means that the problem will not shift to other criminals or different areas of the community.