Breaking Good News
In my mind, the only way we’re going to stop gun violence is to make somebody responsible financially. This country has become a place where money is worth far more than lives. We need to fix that.
My suggestion is to require all gun owners to carry insurance on their guns, like we now require auto owners to do. If your gun is used in a mass shooting, the insurance company has to pay big time, so insurance companies are going to make insurance very expensive. If nothing else, stockpiling guns will become far less fun.
However, this also might work. The Connecticut Supreme Court just ruled that the Sandy Hooks parents can sue Remington for the death of their children.
By a 4-3 decision the court has remanded the landmark gun case back to Bridgeport Superior Court and possibly created a path that other mass shooting victims can follow to get around the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, known as PLCAA, which has protected the manufacturers of the AR-15 from lawsuits.
“We further conclude that PLCAA does not bar the plaintiffs from proceeding on the single, limited theory that the defendants violated CUTPA by marketing the XM15- E2S to civilians for criminal purposes, and that those wrongful marketing tactics caused or contributed to the Sandy Hook massacre,” Palmer wrote.
You can’t sell military weapons to civilians? That’s a unique idea!
Yes. To all of the above ideas. Register and insure weapons as one would a vehicle. As for indemnity for corporations against lawsuits? That should have been a non-player like forever. That the manufacture of military weapons for non-military use isn’t problematic defies logic. “You build it, you own it” … especially in court.
1Unfortunately, this decision will be appealed to the SCOTUS where a Republican majority will rule to allow gun companies to continue to market military-style weapons.
2It’s almost as if Remington could be considered an illegal arms dealer, providing weapons to people who shouldn’t have them with only one goal in mind, gluttonous profits.
And what do the average citizens of this country end up with? Soldiers of Misfortune.
3I couldn’t agree more with the proposal to make gun owners buy insurance. However, as an NRA member friend constantly points out, most crimes are committed by those who may not have legally purchased their guns and therefore have no purchase record which then essentially cancels out the liability requirement. Not all drivers have their cars insured, a sad reality revealed only when they’re in an accident. So, mandatory gun registration should be the first step with harsh penalties for both not registering and not having this liability insurance. I hate to say I agree with my friend, but he does have a point.
4So if that goes thru I can not only sue the dude driving the car but also the maker of the car, and why stop there sue the seller of the car too!!! And the person who taught the driver and the parents for giving birth to the driver…HIT me please I’ll be rich!!! I really hope the law fails, it is st00pid!!
I like the insurance idea as now only criminals can afford guns! But since must gun killings is by “good”people and not criminals, it should work.
5G, your friend is repeating RW tropes. They hammer on the obvious while ignoring the possibilities. So yes, no law is perfect, nor will any singular law address all the problems of gun violence. However, next time your NRA friend opens his pie hole to spew the NRA nonsense, explain to him that no recent laws promoting gun safety is what has gotten us into this mess. If he’s particularly Libertarian, you might remind him that no laws = anarchy.
6G & LL, why not charge the last legal owner of a firearm? Notice of theft would be considered as a mitigating circumstance.
7I’ve said for years that you’re weapon of mass destruction should fall under the same rules as mine: I had to take a written test to be sure I knew the rules for using it legally, I took a practical exam to show that I could apply those rules, I had to have it registered when I acquired it and inspected and registered every year, and I have to keep it insured.
I’ve had friends argue that they are collectors and nobody is going to find, much less register, all the guns in their collections. Okay by me; just register/insure they ones you take out of the house (or might use inside it). A friend on a farm says she uses hers to keep the coyotes out of the greenhouse; sure, lower insurance just like you get lower rates for farm equipment.
But JJ is absolutely right: involve the insurance industry and we’ll start seeing a change. And what a gift to the industry! (And maybe to the private prison industry, too.)
81) Require that the purchaser is required to show insurance before purchase can be completed
2) until and unless a sale and transfer is registered the original purchaser is responsible for premiums on any gun they have purchased (aimed at straw buyers) as well as full financial liability.
3) if an individual either “loses” or has gun stolen this would be reflected in increased premiums. If a gun owner “ forget “ they had their weapon where they are illegal “ i.e. airports” insurance is immediately suspended and weapon cannot be returned until owner shows a renewed insurance policy reflecting their ineptitude.
9These are excellent ideas and have been around for a while. Just one problem: they require a Democratic House and Senate (60% of each, apparently) and President to pass into law. Until we get all of that, you’re just blowing smoke.
10I’m thinking about the details of this idea.
Anyways maybe insurance should be collected on ammunition purchase like taxes are collected on gasoline. The more ammunition you buy/use the greater are your risks to kill people and damage property.
11I have a sister who says she knows nothing about politics yet is a hardcore Republican. (One might say the two go hand in hand, but to move on….) She claims that having guns in her home makes things SAFER. So I put the challenge to her: Home insurance companies give all sorts of discounts for alarms, cameras, fire systems, etc. — find one which has a discount for gun ownership. I’m still waiting.
12Does anyone know how Bushmaster “market[ed] the XM15- E2S to civilians for criminal purposes”? Is it just the act of marketing that type of gun to civilians, or did they do something additional?
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