There have been two major topics of conversation that popped up after the tragedy that happened in Newtown, Connecticut. One idea is to require owners of firearms to purchase gun insurance. What do you think about that?
What can we do to prevent a tragedy (like what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School) from ever happening again? One idea that is floating around online involves the requirement that owners of firearms purchase gun insurance.
John Wasik is a contributor at Forbes. He writes about investments, financial planning, and personal ecology. He wrote a blog post called “Newtown’s New Reality: Using Liability Insurance to Reduce Gun Deaths”. Part of it says:
Who pays the least for gun insurance would be least likely to commit a crime with it. An 80-year-old married woman in Fort Lauderdale would get a great rate. A 20-year-old in inner-city Chicago wouldn’t be able to afford it. A 32-year-old man with a record of drunk driving and domestic violence would have a similar problem.
What about “straw purchasing” where someone buys a gun or gives it to someone else? The original purchaser not only would be required to have insurance, but would be liable for any violence committed with the weapons they purchased. The insurance companies could keep these records, which they are really good at doing.
Nouriel Roubini is an American economist and the cofounder and chairman of Roubini Global Economics, (a global macroeconomic strategy research firm. He said on Twitter:
If we had liability insurance on guns, as we do 4 cars, we will see which insurance company would insure at which price folks with arsenals.
Jean Ann Esselink is a writer for The New Civil Rights Movement. She wrote a blog called “Mandatory Gun Insurance – A Practical Plan to Change America’s Cowboy Gun Culture”. I recommend you read the entire piece. A key part reads:
Require all gun owners to carry liability insurance on every gun they own.
The most obvious benefit comes by way of compensation to victims. I know money can never make up for the damage a gun can do, but compensation is not an insignificant matter. Consider someone who is paralyzed, or left brain-damaged, or permanently disabled by a gun. That victim would be assured of having things like ramps, nurses aids, and whatever other therapies he required for his lifetime.
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