Maryland bill would force gun owners to get $300K liability insurance to wear or carry

MicroWave@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 1020 points –
Maryland bill would force gun owners to get $300K liability insurance to wear or carry | WBFF
foxbaltimore.com

Maryland House Democrats introduced a controversial gun safety bill requiring gun owners to forfeit their ability to wear or carry without firearm liability insurance.

Introduced by Del. Terri Hill, D-Howard County, the legislation would prohibit the “wear or carry” of a gun anywhere in the state unless the individual has obtained a liability insurance policy of at least $300,000.

"A person may not wear or carry a firearm unless the person has obtained and it covered by liability insurance issued by an insurer authorized to do business in the State under the Insurance Article to cover claims for property damage, bodily injury, or death arising from an accident resulting from the person’s use or storage of a firearm or up to $300,000 for damages arising from the same incident, in addition to interest and costs,” the proposed Maryland legislation reads.

631

You are viewing a single comment

None of those other amendment rights are an inherent physical danger to innocent people. The Second Amendment is.

Disagree fundamentally. First amendment is absofuckinglutely WILD right to be able to speak freely without legal repercussions

Hilter built the Nazi war machine from speeches to semi-drunk veterans in beer halls Cult/political/spiritual grifters and can ply their trade unmolested as long as they skirt around fraud laws Political speech, criticism of leadership and government, 4chan, art, etc etc all can have far more power and influence over everyone

Sure, but that's not a physical danger. A weapon, in its very nature, poses a physical danger. Like a car. Insurance makes sense.

But it's not like insurance is going to help. If you buy a gun that gets used in a shooting, it's still used in a shooting. The only difference is that someone might get money, but it doesn't actually solve any problem.

What it does do is place a regressive tax on gun ownership.

Monetary compensation for harm is very common in our society. E.g. that why a person who commits sexual assault pays compensation to the victim. Didn't solve the problem, but it compensates an innocent victim. Same in a shooting.

The insurance should encourage responsible gun ownership. Insurance companies can easily adjust premiums based on training/licensing and premiums would be higher or lower depending on their risk calculation for the given type of weapon. Insurance can place extra requirements on storage and transport that might go well beyond the scope of what's allowed by law.

A cheap insurance plan would likely have more restrictions than an expensive one, plus your premiums would skyrocket after an incident, further encouraging responsible behavior

There's literally FUCKING LAWS requiring you to be responsible.

You're a fucking idiot if you think INSURANCE PREMIUMS are the solution to violence.

Like anybody who has murder in their heart will think twice because of an extra fee tacked on.

Insurance can have additional requirements beyond the law. For example my homeowner's insurance does not allow trampolines on the property. There's no law against trampolines but my homeowner's insurance made the determination that a trampoline is too big of a risk for them.

This is why I said:

Insurance can place extra requirements...that might go well beyond the scope of what’s required by law.

Uhm…next one sort of is. Unless you want to open your home to strangers with weapons and training.

Bro there's so many tools that can be used to kill people. Can't legislate all of them out of reach of everyone.

The core issue doesn't lie with what tool is used.

A gun or an assault rifle is specifically designed to harm and kill people. At a distance no less. A sword? Maybe. But it's not nearly as deadly and efficient, so it could be insured at a lower rate.

Go live in whatever dystopian hell hole you want. Insurance is not the answer. Insurance is a fucking scam, propped up by corporate lobbyists.

Guns aren't tools. People with guns are the tools.

You're an idiot if you think a gun isn't a tool.

You're an idiot. Period.

Carrying concealed does not pose an inherent danger to anyone either.

In fact:

"Combining Florida and Texas data, we find that permit holders are convicted of misdemeanors and felonies at less than a sixth of the rate for police officers.

Among police, firearms violations occur at a rate of 16.5 per 100,000 officers. Among permit holders in Florida and Texas, the rate is only 2.4 per 100,000. That is just 1/7th of the rate for police officers. But there's no need to focus on Texas and Florida — the data are similar in other states."

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3463357

A weapon poses an inherent danger no matter how it's carried or not carried. It's the very nature of a weapon. Having insurance makes sense.

Hopefully the criminals who typically commit robberies, murders, etc will forgo that lifestyle when they remember they don't have the insurance to do it. I can't see anywhere this law would not he a benefit to all.

This way you get only criminals carrying a gun, not criminal and idiots. Sounds like a small win to me