Responsibility in Firearm Legislation (RIFL)
RIFL offers model legislation to lawfully shift the costs of firearm injury from the public to gun industry and advocates for its adoption in every state.
The Problem
- Firearms manufacturers and distributors have no financial liability to pay one cent for the 85,000 individuals wounded by guns each year. This means that annually:
- U.S. taxpayers pay $12.2 billion dollars to cover the direct costs of suicide, homicide, and unintentional injury by shooting.
- Each patient hospitalized by gunfire generates on average $81,291 of medical expenses, most of which is not covered by private insurance.
- The unpaid portion of each bill drives up the cost of health insurance premiums along withthe cost of services provided by hospitals and physicians services that everyone pays.
- A shooting death results in the unplanned expense of a funeral and burial, costing families on average, between $6,000 and $12,000.
- U.S. employers absorb $534,910,000 in direct costs for recruiting, training, and replacing employees, and for lost time from work because of gun injury.
The Solution
The Responsibility in Firearms Legislation (RIFL) proposes to shift all direct costs of shooting from the injured, families, employers and taxpayers to the for-profit firearms industry.
Our proposal aims to bring the firearms industry on par with all other U.S. corporations held to account for the harms and injuries caused by their products and services.
With the help of legislators, physicians, attorneys, religious leaders, advocacy groups, and private citizens, including gun owners, RIFL is drafting novel non-partisan legislation to establish an independent agency to create a no-fault victim compensation fund for the victims of firearm injury. This ageny would require gun manufacturers and distributors to pay into a no-fault fund to cover the direct costs of shooting, ensuring that the wounded incur no out-of-pocket costs for their medical treatment, mental health care, and prescriptions. Similar to workers compensation the the fund would replace lost wages of the injured. In addition, it would reimburse families for expenses incurred on behalf of the injured and compensate employers for their costs.
What will it solve?
- Successful implementation of the RIFL legislation would do the following:
- Save taxpayers $12.2 billion dollars every year.
- Ensure that the injured and their families receive comprehensive medical and mental health services after a shooting without additional conditions required by exisitng victim compensation funds.
- Protect victims and families from financial strain and medical debt.
- Reimburse employers for their out-of-pocket losses.
- Align the firearm industry with RIFL and our allies for sensible reform in gun laws and effective gun violence prevention.
RIFL & Firearms
The RIFL Alliance accords with the Second Amendment and recognizes the rights of citizens to own firearms. We agree that corporations have the right to manufacture and sell firearms at a profit. Our efforts are aimed solely at mandating accountability across the industry. Ending the government entitlement to the firearm industry will relieve taxpayers, the injured, their families, and employers of an unfair burden, the cost of which escalates each year.
RIFL has support from gun-owners and non-owners alike across the political spectrum.
Founders
Two natives from South Bend, Indiana locked arms over our experiences with personal losses from gun violence and with the frustration of witnessing the overwhelming grief and crippling financial strain that individuals, families, and small businesses experience after a shooting.
Photo by Matthew Kaplan
Mary Louise Kocy
A business owner and entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in education, organizational development and business strategy, Mary is the co-owner of Rusk Renovations, a luxury renovation firm recognized for its excellence by multiple industry associations and by Crain's New York Magazine Best Places to Work in New York City.
Mary Louise holds an M.S. in Education from Bank Street College of Education and was a member of the first cohort of "Making Change," the Executive Education Program at the Harvard Divinity School (HDS), followed by two years study of religion, the ethics of war, statecraft, and business ethics.
She is dedicated to working with organizations, individuals, and lawmakers on measures to remove obstacles to human flourishing and that enhance public well-being.
Anthony D. Douglas II MD
Anthony is a General Surgery Resident Physician at the University of Chicago Hospital. He is the founder of the hospital's Surgical Advocacy Fellowship, a 2-year long fellowship that prepares early career surgeons to become surgeon advocates, the first of its kind. He holds memberships in the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, and has been recognized for excellence as an educator. He works with lawmakers in Illinois and in Washington D.C. on a variety of issues, and his advocacy efforts in both places include prescription drug affordability, violence prevention, and Medicaid/Medicare reimbursement. In addition, he is the executive director of the podcast series, "Deep Cuts".
At the conclusion of his residency and fellowship training, Anthony will be a board certified general surgeon, with a subspecializion in trauma and acute care surgery.
He is dedicated to reducing violence by mitigating the socioeconomic and historical factors that perpeturate trauma in urban communities.