Please stop talking about the 49 people killed in Orlando.

[flamin lib]

There were 103 people SHOT in that mass shooting. One hundred and three SHOT.

Those extra 53 people will live the rest of their lives with the scaring, both visible and invisible, for rest of their lives. Many will require a lifetime of care and rehabilitation.

Then there's the monetary cost. The average gunshot wound costs $1,000,000 in direct medical treatment. That will bankrupt many of the injured. Gunshot wounds cost the nation $two hundred billion each and every year. That's $53,000,000 in medical costs caused by one man with a $700 gun.

STOP JUST COUNTING THE DEAD.

The hundred thousand people wounded by guns every year deserve a voice too.

[riversedge]

1. You have a great point.

[Roy Rolling]

45. It really is a great point. n/t

[RKP5637]

2. K&R !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[onehandle]

3. Gun violence costs the U.S. $229 Billion Dollars A Year.

The gun industry generates $15 billion dollars a year.

That $229 billion a year should be paid by gun owners in fees and taxes.

[ErikJ]

40. Excellent idea.

[sarge43]

4. Then there's the cost to all the families and friends. n/t

[sarae]

7. ^This^

the destruction of the lives left behind is just as tragic...

[CanonRay]

5. Well said

and usually forgotten.

[mainstreetonce]

6. Great post

Thanks

We must remember all the victims.

[ismnotwasm]

8. K&R

[ProudProgressiveNow]

9. K&R nt

[Her Sister]

10. You got a point! About the other victims of this shooting.

Norman Goldman also is very strong in this issue.

http://www.normangoldman.com/on-demand/

[lonestarnot]

11. Excellent observations!

[bucolic_frolic]

12. You're making it sound like

a public health and fiscal problem

The GOP Congress says it isn't. Wonder why?

[Chemisse]

13. Good point. Surviving a shooting is not the same as never being shot.

But that is the way we treat it.

[rladdi]

14. This is what the Republicans, NRA and guns rights are all about. They don't care about human live.

Not one Republican can stand on the floor of the house or senate and tell a story about anyone getting shot or killed. They have been ignoring that for years. Just listen to the Democrats and the stories they tell about brave people, none from the Republicans.
And of course they BAR the CDC from collecting any gun crimes stats. The NRA is against that.But states are beginning to collect data about gun crimes, overriding the NRA.

[brer cat]

15. K&R

[Fast Walker 52]

16. and these survivors have suffered and will suffer far more than the dead victims

both mentally and physically.

such an important point.

[ladyVet]

17. I get what you're saying, and we should remember all the victims.

They are just as important in this.

But, they are alive. They will go on with their lives, no matter how hard it may be. Their families won't be visiting a grave. Those who lived through the shooting have an opportunity that those who did not can never have. They can speak for themselves. We must speak for the dead.

[scottie55]

18. Have The NRA Pay The Medical Bills

Now wouldn't that be something.....

[ReRe]

21. That's right, scottie55

Have lawyers and judges come up with a monetary amount that each living victim will need to take care of themselves re the wounds and mental anguish of that night. Total it up for each patient, for all those years of care. Add all the totals up and send the NRA an invoice. Period.
Sue the NRA and the manufacturer of the guns and ammunition.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

19. you're absolutely right

[PeaceNikki]

20. Plus how many more who witnessed the massacre?

How many are questioning why they were spared? How many friends and family members of the dead, injured and witnesses are impacted? How many first responders will live with the day for the rest of their lives? How many members of the community are broken in heart and soul? The impact of that day is so very incredibly far-reaching.

My heart breaks for all of them.

[classof56]

28. +1

[awoke_in_2003]

30. Too true...

How've you been, Nikki?

[PeaceNikki]

35. I'm good, thanks!

I'm recovering from hand surgery after a boneheaded kitchen incident, but it's getting much better. I just tested myself to a well-deserved pedicure so I'm feeling great.

How are you, my friend?

[awoke_in_2003]

37. Did you get cut?

It seems I can't do anything involving a lot of cutting without cutting myself I am doing well, nearing the end of a staycation. Damn, I hate that word. I haven't taken a real vacation in 3 years.

[PeaceNikki]

42. I did. I slipped while sharpening a knife and cut a tendon.

The knife is sharp!

Enjoy the rest of your staycation!

[awoke_in_2003]

43. I hope there isn't any permanent damage. nt

[niyad]

33. you are absolutely correct!

[7962]

22. Millions have already been raised to pay their medical bills.

More to come I'm sure. It started immediately after the attack. We'll all take care of them by the time its over and done with; as we should.
Of course dealing with the mental wounds are another story
I'd have no problem with the govt picking up the tab for all these people wounded by an Islamist nutbag

[lunatica]

23. I agree and have always added the wounded

because it's only a fluke that they didn't die too.

[Zippyzagnut]

24. Why not talk about them ALL?

Not the dead, but the living, too?

[stonecutter357]

25. K&R!

[nvme]

26. I believe the living NEED Recognition

The dead however have no way of speaking for themselves. As "Unforgiven" William Munny coins it, when you kill a man you take everything he is or is ever gonna' be. So if you want to promote the 103 do so, but don't even jokingly encourage anyone not promote the 49 angels.
I am grateful the "53" lived, and I know many will become vocal in there advocacy. But the dead will need someone to fight for them.

[Nac Mac Feegle]

27. A long-ago experience

Sort of led me to the conclusion that sometimes, the ones that die are the lucky ones.

It had to do with some friends and a rather bad automobile crash, but the observation could be extended to other situations.

I mean no disrespect to any, no minimizing of anyone's suffering and loss, but sometimes, it just works out that way, sadly.

Life isn't TV, where everything is fine at the end of the 47 minute episode.


Sandy and Jenni

[Buzz cook]

29. Link for the ststs please

I agree wholeheartedly that we should remember the surviving victims as well.

[niyad]

31. k and r. it has been very upsetting to see all the news and comments with no mention of the injured

[lupinella]

32. I lost friends at Pulse

But have others who were shot.
Plus our community is having to cope w/ enormous grief.
And many people lost jobs/income.
Friends are having to deal with well-meaning family trying to 'protect' them back into the closet.

The dead are not the only victims.

Their names should never be forgotten, but the rest of the damage exists.

[Hissyspit]

34. Sincerest sympathy.

[calimary]

36. EXCELLENT point!

The injured in all these are victims as well. No doubt about it.

[Iggo]

38. No, I won't stop.

[Behind the Aegis]

46. I won't stop either.

[Vinca]

39. We might also talk about people not in Orlando shot on the same day.

We get to 103 on a daily basis, but it seems they don't count unless it's in one place and there's a person of Middle Eastern descent on the business end of the trigger.

[onehandle]

41. Pathetic extreme conservative GOP gun nuts only care about their fetish.

They nuisance the numbers and pretend it's not their fault.

Fuck them.

[libdem4life]

44. This is one of the reasons I read DU...the variety of opinions

and different perspectives.

You are so right on. I learned this after being involved in a "simple" auto accident. None of the wounds were life threatening, but I was pregnant and my sister and her son...all of us injured. The upheavals in our lives and those around us seemed never ending.

So, thank you for bringing this out. Often the survivors have deep guilt, PTSD, night terrors...apart from the monetary costs.