A new report about the effects of gun violence shows a significant toll on both human life and the economy in every single U.S. state.
The report, released Wednesday by Congress' Joint Economic Committee, draws on data from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The data shows nearly 40,000 people were killed with a gun in the U.S. in 2017. That's more than 100 people per day. It marked the first year U.S. firearm deaths exceeded deaths caused by car crashes.
Sixty percent of gun deaths are suicides, and more than half of suicides in the U.S. involve guns. The report says the states with high rates of gun ownership, like Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Montana, West Virginia and Wyoming, also have the highest rates of gun suicide.
Gun violence isn't only devastating — it's expensive. The data shows gun violence costs the U.S. economy about $229 billion a year. That figure is a combination of lost income, employer costs, police response and health care treatment.
