liability insurance – A Celebration of Reading

Do you believe that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution grants unlimited rights to ordinary citizens to own and carry around loaded guns with no consequences? Do you support those highly questionable legal rulings that insist on the right of a citizen to place himself or herself in a dicey position that may well be resolved by gun-fire and a pool of blood? Do you place the right of a citizens to engaging in target practice over the rights of young children to live without fear of being blown away by a revolver left out on the kitchen table one night?

The following is excerpted from “The Daily Take” on The Thom Hartmann Program as printed in TruthOut. (See also Gun Liability Laws, here and here).

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Listening to the radio today I heard a reasonable suggestion for the control of guns in this country which removes the problem of being associated with government control. Furthermore, the capitalists should greatly benefit from the suggestion since it will open up a new revenue stream for the insurance industry.

It’s reasonably simple: do not restrict guns but make it a requirement to maintain liability insurance on each gun. This would be controlled by the insurance industry. Costs would, like all insurance, be based on the liability being insured; in other words, if you are a certified gun enthusiast, the insurance will be inexpensive, but if you have instances of domestic violence on your police record, the insurance might be so expensive that it makes gun ownership prohibitive. It is reasonable to assume the insurance companies will need to maintain a complete database to identify the guns they insure but since the government will not provide this function, there will be no objection (after all, the most comprehensive database of gun owners is at the NRA and no one complains about that).

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