House bill would require gun owners to have liability insurance

The Hill ^ | May 29, 2015 | Lydia Wheeler

[2ndDivisionVet]

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)

House Democrat Rep. Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.) has introduced a bill that would require gun owners to carry liability insurance.

The Firearm Risk Protection Act, unveiled Friday, would require gun buyers to have liability insurance coverage before being allowed to purchase a weapon, and would impose a fine of $10,000 if an owner is found not to have it. Service members and law enforcement officers, however, would be exempt from the requirement.

“We require insurance to own a car, but no such requirement exists for guns," Maloney said in a statement. "The results are clear: car fatalities have declined by 25 percent in the last decade, but gun fatalities continue to rise.”

Maloney said auto insurance carriers incentivize drivers to take precautions to reduce accidents, but no such incentives exist for firearm owners.

“An insurance requirement would allow the free market to encourage cautious behavior and help save lives,” she said. “Adequate liability coverage would also ensure that the victims of gun violence are fairly compensated when crimes or accidents occur."

This is the second time Maloney, who is one of the biggest gun control advocates in Congress, has introduced the legislation. A few weeks ago she reintroduced legislation that would require sellers to obtain a background check for all guns sold at gun shows.

The Gun Show Loophole Closing Act, long championed by former Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), would subject anyone selling or transferring a gun to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and require that transfers be reported to the attorney general.

[2ndDivisionVet]

No wonder they lose seats every two years.

[thackney]

We require insurance to own a car

No we don't. We require insurance to drive on public roads, not to own a vehicle or drive it on private property.

[taxcontrol]

Can we please require criminals to have insurance as well?

/sarc

[GreyFriar]

I’m sure most ‘gang-bangers’ and criminals are going to run like the Flash to the nearest insurance agency and buy a policy after the law is passed.

[fwdude]

And car insurance is required at the STATE level, where it belongs.

[Spirochete]

... a bill that would require gun owners to carry liability insurance ...

The requirement is "infringement".

[Crim]

So she thinks only the 1% should be able to defend themselves?

[Zhang Fei]

"The results are clear: car fatalities have declined by 25 percent in the last decade, but gun fatalities continue to rise.”

Ignorance, or barefaced lie?

[Buffalo Bob]

If we need insurance for a 2nd Amendment right, then we also need:

• Abortion liability insurance for anyone seeking an abortion or associated with providing one.
• Media liability insurance for all members of the press.
• ...etc....

[WayneS]

I think congress-critters should have to buy their own liability insurance. I think they should not be prevented from entering office until they show they have prepaid coverage for the entire term to which they have been elected plus twenty years.

[mountainlion]

we the people need some insurance to protect us form illegal actions by our elected. Maybe the politicians should have some performance bonding like some companies.

I support a two term system in politics but I want the second term to be in prison.

[Paladin2]

What gun? How about a daily ‘hood canvas for illegal gunz?

[WayneS]

Well, she IS from New York. There’s no telling what kind of draconian insurance laws they have in her state.

[Carl Vehse]

Demonicrat politicans should be required to have liability insurance to cover the damage to citizens when the politicians commit treason.

[South40]

She's comparing the guns Americans keep in their homes to the cars they drive on public streets?

This dingbat should be drug tested.

[Paladin2]

Need to include vehicular deaths.

[tanknetter]

So you really do end up with a national gun registry. It’s just held and maintained by the insurance companies. Which will trip all over themselves to send it in when the first subponea hits.

On top of that, what happens when the insurance companies decline to provide coverage? Or jack up rates to the point where it becomes cost prohibitive for the average person to own a gun?

This woman, btw, isn’t an idiot. She just thinks the rest of us are.

[Paladin2]

Doesnt Ill already have that for their governators?

[FoxInSocks]

“We require insurance to own a car, but no such requirement exists for guns," Maloney said in a statement. "The results are clear: car fatalities have declined by 25 percent in the last decade, but gun fatalities continue to rise.”

omg. The stupid, it hurts! Car fatalities have NOT declined because of insurance. Automobile insurance has been around a LOT longer than "the last decade."

How about improved vehicle design or more seat belt use . . . anything but insurance premiums. Seriously, how is it possible for someone to be so dumb?

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

We should require Congressites to have liability insurance for the crap they pull. Oh yeah, I guess it’s called “immunity”.