{"id":31796,"date":"2012-12-16T23:07:31","date_gmt":"2012-12-17T06:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/16\/firearms-insurance.html"},"modified":"2012-12-18T19:10:47","modified_gmt":"2012-12-19T02:10:47","slug":"firearms-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/16\/firearms-insurance.html","title":{"rendered":"Firearms Insurance"},"content":{"rendered":"

By which I don't mean insurance to pay for replacing stolen firearms, but liability insurance for damage that might be done by same.<\/p>\n

I've seen a lot of suggestions about mandating this at some level as a way of \u00a0(a) paying for the damages done by people irresponsibly using (storing, playing, loaning) their guns, but (and less emphasized) (b) reducing gun ownership by increasing the costs associated with it.<\/p>\n

The below article makes a good case, in general, for (a). \u00a0I find (b) a bit more problematic, if for no other reason than it's a regressive cost on the poor. Someone middle class or upper class or super-upper-class can easily afford such insurance. I doubt it would be by gun, so it wouldn't directly impact the folks who buy and keep dozens of the things. \u00a0It might<\/i> encourage people to be more responsible with how guns are stored (stolen guns had better be from a broken-into gun safe or your next policy will be a lot more expensive; ditto for what happens to your rates when little Billy finds the loaded gun in the desk drawer and shoots his friend with it), but it if means that poorer people simply can't afford the insurance, I doubt it will dramatically affect gun violence (or coverage for same) in those communities — people take the chance of driving without insurance all the time, and it's a lot easier for someone to hide an uninsured gun than an uninsured automobile.<\/p>\n

So, yeah, I think there are some potential benefits (under (a)) to a mandatory liability \/ damages insurance for gun ownership. But it's hardly a magic bullet.<\/p>\n

(The same problem applies for the parallel suggestions that we simply tax guns at a really high rate. \u00a0That won't stop Joe One-Percent, or even Suzie Fifty-Percent from buying a gun or twenty if they want one, but it will encourage a huge trade in tax-free black market pistols, or else de facto price guns out of the hands of a substantial proportion of the population. And, sooner or later, someone is going to suggest subsidizing the purchase of guns for poor folks who need them but who can't afford them under the current laws — at which point the heads of both liberals and conservatives will blow up.)<\/p>\n

\n

Embedded Link<\/strong><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Case for Firearms Insurance<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe require automobile owners to carry vehicle insurance. It’s time we did the same for firearms.\ufeff The tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut are in the news this week…\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Google+:<\/strong> View post on Google+<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By which I don't mean insurance to pay for replacing stolen firearms, but liability insurance for damage that might be done by same. I've seen a lot of suggestions about mandating this at some level as a way of \u00a0(a) paying for the damages done by people irresponsibly using (storing, playing, loaning) their guns, but … Continue reading “Firearms Insurance”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106,298],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts","category-guns"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31923,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/27\/considering-gun-liability-insurance.html","url_meta":{"origin":31796,"position":0},"title":"Considering Gun Liability Insurance","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 27-Dec-12 2:51pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Not a new idea, but here's a few further thoughts I've had about it.1. I don't really think it will make gun owners that much more \"responsible,\" as the article suggests. I mean, they already know guns are dangerous and could kill\/hurt others, if they were to be left out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":131612,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2016\/09\/22\/because-what-could-go-wrong-with-leaving-lethal-valuables-in-a-car.html","url_meta":{"origin":31796,"position":1},"title":"Because what could go wrong with leaving (lethal) valuables in a car?","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 22-Sep-16 11:02pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I've had my car broken into in the past. I have stuff stolen -- the car stereo, personal items in the car, etc.That background would make me feel extremely uncomfortable about leaving a firearm in a car while I was in shopping or at work. And with good reason. Thieves\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31797,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/17\/the-material-oddity-of-the-second-amendment.html","url_meta":{"origin":31796,"position":2},"title":"The Material Oddity of the Second Amendment","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 17-Dec-12 1:40pm","format":false,"excerpt":"It seems to me that the Second Amendment to the US Constitution is unique in terms of having a very material aspect to it lacking in the other rights guaranteed to the people. \u00a0It gives you the right (as currently defined by the Supreme Court) to bear arms -- in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31846,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/19\/guns-vs-cars-which-are-deadlier.html","url_meta":{"origin":31796,"position":3},"title":"Guns vs. Cars — which are deadlier?","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 19-Dec-12 11:00am","format":false,"excerpt":"For many years, the discussion about gun control has usually included this exchange:A. \"Well, cars kill more people than guns, so why don't you ban them?\"B. \"Because cars serve another purposes. And we do license all car drivers and make them take classes and require them to carry insurance.\"A. \"That's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":135900,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/02\/16\/guns-and-nutters.html","url_meta":{"origin":31796,"position":4},"title":"Guns and Nutters","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 16-Feb-18 7:28am","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm all in favor of getting people access to the mental health they need. But what if they don't want it? We are, in this country, very sensitive to civil liberties. So in case it hasn't escaped you, if The Power to Take Away Guns is the first step on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/unnamed-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":129056,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/12\/04\/thanks-to-the-gop-suspected-terrorists-can-still-buy-guns.html","url_meta":{"origin":31796,"position":5},"title":"Thanks to the GOP, suspected terrorists can still buy guns","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 4-Dec-15 6:22am","format":false,"excerpt":"The GOP shot down, once again, a proposal that people on terrorist watch lists should not be allowed to buy guns, or explosives. Because freedom!'The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan agency that investigates issues for Congress, said in a report more than five years ago that from 2004 to 2010,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31796\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}