The Price We Pay

Freedom is not free. Liberties have costs. Economists calculate the cost of decisions in terms of the trade-offs we make, and there’s one cost we need to consider. What is the cost of our right to keep and bear arms? What is the price or the tax that this liberty exacts from us?

The sad truth is that this “right” or liberty comes with a blood tax. My right to keep and bear, and your right to keep and bear arms costs this society the lives of eight children each day. It costs us an additional 75 adult deaths each day. It costs us one life paid in blood tax every 17 minutes of every day of the year. Eight children and 75 adults die as the result of gun violence in this country each day. I have no idea how many are wounded.

Is your right to own that handgun worth the lives of eight children today? Is your right to own that AR-style rifle worth eight children’s lives tomorrow? It’s the question we need to ask ourselves. What price are we willing to pay for this particular liberty?