Deadly and costly, too

In addition to the toll on human life, there’s a financial incentive for California to intervene on gun violence.

Data from the Urban Institute found that treating victims of gun assaults directly cost hospitals in California $87.4 million in 2010, much of which was paid by public insurance, according to SFGate.com. The data also show that, statewide, 14.3 per 100,000 people are treated for gunshot wounds annually, slightly lower than the national average of 14.4 per 100,000.

However, the data show that 17 percent of the California residents treated for a gun-related injury were uninsured—prior to implementation of the Affordable Care Act—and huge racial disparities exist, according to Fierce Health Finance. For African American males ages 18 to 34, the gunshot rate was 683.2 per 100,000, about 17 times the rate of white males in that same age group.