Insurance vs. Laws and Regulations

Insurance vs. Laws and Regulations

The laws and regulations we use for gun safety in our country have provided only limited relief from the high level of gun injury and death. While they need to be extended and improved, other ways of protecting people are also important. One that would be extremely helpful is to require insurance that protects victims of gun violence.

Laws and Regulations

For decades there has been a war between those who want reasonable regulation of gun ownership and use and those who feel that any restrictions applied to guns are the start of a slippery slope leading to total gun confiscation. The result has been a patchwork that provides substantial impediments to responsible gun ownership as the pool of irresponsible owners and dangerous guns has increased exponentially.

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Insurance for Victims Not Shooters

The most important characteristic of the insurance needed for owning or carrying firearms is the basic structure of who is protected and paid by the insurance.  Voluntary insurance is always designed to protect the insurance buyer or owner first and pays third party victims only when necessary to protect the policy holder.  Required or mandatory insurance is intended to protect the public and persons other than the policy holder, and should promptly pay insured persons.

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PreventingNewtown Blog Points Out Gun Insurance Benefits

A new post by Julia Hartman on the PreventingNewtown blog titled “A Case for Gun Liability Insurance” gives a thoughtful and interesting discussion of the benefits of requiring insurance to protect victims of gun violence.

The post gives a moving presentation of the damage done daily by guns and calls for insurance as a way to deal with the problem.  It makes the comparison to motor vehicles and points out the fact that gun deaths exceed motor vehicle deaths in 10 states currently.  Suicides are handled on a par with homicides and accidents, an position which is often opposed by those supporting the status quo for gun policy.

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