Saturday 15 January 2011

A sensible and responsible idea -

which will never fly with US gun nutz.


From here:

[...]sidestep the entire gun control controversy and instead pass state laws that require anyone who owns a gun to carry insurance.

If they have risk factors (like teenagers in the house), their rates go up. If one of their kids sneaks a gun out of the house and gets caught, or uses it to commit a crime, the insurance gets canceled for some meaningful period of time - say, 10 years. And if someone steals your gun and you don't report it in a 24-hour window of you finding out, your insurance is suspended.

If you have a rifle and it's only used for hunting, low rates. If you have a Glock and you carry it in an open-carry town or state, your rates will be very high - because odds are so much higher that innocent bystanders may get caught in a shootout.


The comments after this short item are very informative and they reflect the whole gamut of ambivalence, sense and crazy about firearms / the 2nd amendment that US citizens share. Here's a few that made me chortle.

[...] that would further enrich insurance companies. They are venal and clever enough to offer policies that have the veneer of protection and coverage while not doing so in a practical sense. They would profit handsomely while putting themselves at minimal risk. Think of how they've gamed health insurance.

Accidents and deaths. I think we need to explore this idea. If own a machine that can kill, you should insure it. Motor vehicles and guns. [...] But there is an impossible hurdle - any legislation that requires people to 'declare' the guns they own will never work. The nuts think it is the first step for the government to take guns away. Which brings us to the question - why haven't they come for our cars?

Teabaggers [...] the same demographic as the gun fanatics. Sorry, all rational, reasonable attempts to ameliorate the effects of gun violence are "off the table" by default. Now if your mandatory gun insurance included mandatory gun ownership for all citizens, and the NRA owned the gun insurance company, then you might get somewhere.

"Gun control? We need bullet control! I think every bullet should cost 5,000 dollars. Because if a bullet cost five thousand dollars, we wouldn't have any innocent bystanders .” Chris Rock, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert ... why is it comedians are so much smarter than the rest of us?

Remember how our mothers used to fret that rough-housing and various stunts would lead to someone losing an eye? It seems that in the US, the obligatory worship to God the Father will soon be supplanted by the Almighty Right to Bear Arms, if that hasn't happened already. Who cares if politicians, teachers, by-standers get maimed or killed so that some 'murrican men and women can compensate for their feelings of inadequacy, and keep the scary evil monsters at arms' length. Until they look in the mirror, that is.

2 comments:

TT said...

I don't know....the insurance lobby would be a powerful ally in a push to make this happen...play them on the potential profits involved!

Anonymous said...

Why not license firearms like cars, annually? Any firearms or criminal offence and sorry buddy, no renewal. Doctors could pull licenses as they do for drivers if they determine a patient is a danger to himself or others. The firearms could be impounded as well. If you failed to renew your registration, likewise you're out. It's not much, but it would be a start.

Having said that, I don't think there is any cure for what ails the U.S. The gun culture will bring the nation down in flames some day. Very sad end to a once prosperous nation.

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