Thoughts and Prayers Are Not Enough: How Mass Shootings Harm Communities, Local... (EventID=115032)

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Connect with the House Financial Services Committee Get the latest news: https://financialservices.house.gov/ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HouseFinancialCmte Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FSCDems ___________________________________ On Tuesday, June 19, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. (ET) Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Green and Ranking Member Emmer will host a virtual hearing entitled, “Thoughts and Prayers Are Not Enough: How Mass Shootings Harm Communities, Local Economies, and Economic Growth." - - - - - - - - Witnesses for this one-panel hearing will be: • Abel Brodeur, Associate Professor, University of Ottawa • Byron Brown, Mayor, City of Buffalo, New York • Sarah Burd-Sharps, Senior Director of Research, Everytown for Gun Safety • Ruchi Singh, Assistant Professor, Terry College of Business at University of Georgia • Brian Ingram, Founder & CEO, Purpose Restaurants Background Overview Mass shootings have become a traumatic reality of American life; they are horrifying not only for the senseless brutality of the violence but for the frequency at which they occur. From 2009 to the present, a total of 279 mass shootings occurred in the U.S., with 1,576 people killed and 1,046 people shot and wounded. The devastation these incidents bring – in lives lost, survivors wounded, trauma experienced – ripples throughout families, neighborhoods, and communities for weeks, years, and generations. From emergency medical care, hospital stays, and physical treatment to mental health support, the cost of gun violence to survivors and their families can be staggering. According to one study, the annual cost of gun violence nationally is $280 billion. Moreover, the necessity of first responders, law enforcement, and criminal justice services to respond to mass shootings results in enormous costs to taxpayers. Research estimates that the Las Vegas, Nevada, mass shooting in 2017 resulted in $600 million in taxpayer costs. While most mass shootings occur in private homes, the mass shootings that often have a wider impact on the overall community happen at schools, businesses, places of worship, and public events. Recent mass shootings include: On May 14, 2022, 10 people were killed and 3 injured at a Tops Friendly Markets store in Buffalo, New York; • On May 24, 2022, 19 children and 2 adults were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas; and • On July 4, 2022, 8 people were killed and 68 injured at a 4th of July parade and celebration in Highland Park, Illinois. The impacts of mass shootings on the affected communities linger long after widespread media, and public attention has faded. This hearing will examine mass shootings from an angle that is less often understood but nevertheless affects the ability of communities to recover: the economic and financial consequences of mass shootings, including on local businesses, employment, and property values, specifically housing prices. Impacts on Businesses The sight of a business, school, or neighborhood cordoned off by police in the aftermath of a mass shooting has become all too familiar. However, these incidents also have other short- and long-term effects on the economics of the communities in which they occur. These include store closures after an incident and a change in consumer traffic. For instance, the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, closed for years after 12 people were killed there in November 2018 and never reopened. A Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, remained closed for 3 months after 22 people were killed there in August 2019. Months after the fatal shooting in Buffalo, New York on May 14, 2022, the Tops Friendly Markets store that was targeted has remained closed and is scheduled to reopen on July 15, 2022. In the aftermath of the Buffalo shooting, community members described their fears of completing errands at different stores, not only Tops, and preferred to limit their time inside to purchase only specific items. These accounts demonstrate how even surrounding businesses, particularly those that rely on customer foot traffic, such as businesses in the retail and service industries, can also suffer from a drop in revenue. Research shows that mass shootings depress consumer sentiment in the affected area, despite the unlikelihood that the same area would experience another mass shooting within a short time period. Consumers in affected areas are 4.9% more likely to state that local business conditions are worse than before the shooting. They are also 5.2% more likely to state that their individual finances are worse than before the shooting. Deteriorating consumer sentiment leads to lower spending within these areas, which then decreases the revenue of these businesses and increases their risks of closing permanently. ... https://financialservices.house.gov/events/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=409649