Author: RandyH

This diary is a result of feedback from one of my comments earlier today. The idea grew in my head and here we are.

Gun owners need to assume financial liability for their property and how it is used. Requiring guns and their owners be insured could effectively regulate the market for guns and ammunition without doing it explicitly by statute, based on the risks of certain product categories. If no one will insure something, it will effectively be banned. I just wanted to get some thoughts on the subject out in a longer form, so this diary can serve as a space for that.

Please comment and/or recommend so I can do another iteration of this and maybe move it along to a larger audience.

When you buy a gun or ammunition, you should be required by law to assume civil liability for its use. If you can not cover the monetary damages that your property might inflict on others by your own hand or anyone else’s, you should not be able to buy or possess such property.

While this all seems like common sense to me, it surprised me that others aren’t thinking along these lines.

I am not a lawyer. This idea may or may not be able to be implemented on a Federal level, though it may be able to be adjusted to. But I have little doubt that State governments could do it.

The Idea

Just like owning a car or any other potentially dangerous machine, gun owners should be required to carry either insurance or a surety bond to cover the damages to any potential victims of their accidental (or intentional) use.

This idea takes the responsibility of determining who is eligible to own guns and, more importantly, ammunition out of the hands of government for the most part. Instant background checks could be replaced by a letter of guarantee from an insurance company willing to assume liability for this person’s actions. The insurance industry could decide who is trustworthy and cover them for a suitable premium based on the risk.

Mandatory coverage levels should be something along the lines of (up to) $10 million per shooting victim/$100 million per incident (covering all victims and property damage) in liability coverage or bond. These numbers are my own guesstimates of the maximum it might cost to cover anything from minor property damage to surgery, intensive care, permanent disability or, in some cases, dozens of deaths.

The settlement for a victim should consider the damages to an entire generation of their family as they are affected by the shooting as well.

Actual settlements would normally be much lower, but these numbers are considering the liability for a mass murder. Insurance company analysts could come up with more realistic numbers of what actual claims based on actual damages might cost.

This may sound like alot of money but it could be covered by the personal liability portion of most people’s homeowners insurance. Rural and suburban folks with their hunting rifles and simple handguns who have stable employment, no criminal record and something to live for would have no trouble getting this insurance coverage at a fair price if they can pass whatever sanity test their insurance company requires of them.

Allow the free market of the insurance industry to decide who they’re willing to cover and for what types of guns and ammo their policy will cover.

Require an official letter of pre-approval, issued by a bona fide insurance carrier guaranteeing that they have done the due diligence and determined that this potential gun owner is low enough a risk that they are willing to insure their actions and whatever damage this gun may inflict on anyone. Proof of coverage would also be required to purchase ammunition.

If the insurance industry should decide that a given model or design of weapon is un-insurable for private use at any cost, the market for that type of weapon would dry up. Invisible hand of the free market and all that. No legislative action necessary.

If you don’t need to own a gun but want to let off some steam by firing off a few thousand rounds, go to a certified and insured firing range and use one of their automatic weapons on the premisses for a reasonable fee. This could be a fun day out for the whole family, just like Disneyland!

Tracking the sales of Guns and Ammunition

The insurance industry would be permitted, or required, to track all sales of guns and ammunition from factory to consumer and it would be in their interest to do so, keeping very accurate records.  The ATF could make sure they comply with any recordkeeping requirements, as they will be compiling the same records for criminal investigations. Maybe they could do a joint effort and split the costs, even.

All guns and ammunition would be required to be serialized and traceable to the purchaser.

All existing guns and ammo would have to be registered with an insurance provider and that company must provide full access to this data to any government agency when requested.

As part of any insurance policy or bond, the insurer would issue a card to their customer to be used when purchasing ammunition for their insured weapon. No ammunition could be sold without recording who bought it.

All sales records would be instantly compiled centrally by the insurance industry and they would work together with any government agency to ensure instant access to these sales records. The insurance company is assuming civil liability for each bullet sold to their gun-owning customers.  

Uninsured Guns

Any uninsured gun becomes an illegal gun, subject to confiscation and destruction. There will not be raids and searches for guns and ammo specifically but anyone caught possessing any gun not insured for their personal use will lose it and be fined heavily. Stiffer penalties if that person has a history of violent crime.

Stolen Guns

All gun owners have a responsibility to report a stolen gun or ammunition to their insurance company and, in turn, to the appropriate authorities. Both could be done with one phone call.

Civil liability does not end at the time of theft. It never ends until the gun is recovered. The owner and their insurance company are still liable for whatever damages are caused by a missing or stolen weapon or bullet. They really should consider purchasing gun safes, ya think? The insurer will, no doubt, set some requirements for the secure storage of the weapons.

This also applies at every step in the supply chain. The distribution of guns and ammunition must be insured at every stage against theft or loss and all damages resulting from that theft or loss must be covered.

All reports of theft of any gun or ammunition by the gun owner will be treated as a very high priority theft by law enforcement agencies, much like a stolen car.

Thefts in the distribution network will be investigated similar to thefts of controlled substances in the supply chain for pharmaceuticals or industrial chemicals and penalties would be very stiff. Gun dealers who manage to “lose” too much inventory would risk losing their licenses and/or find themselves un-insurable.

Any recovered gun that is registered and insured by someone else will be returned to its rightful owner, provided they can maintain the insurance on it.

Incentive programs (large cash rewards) should be considered to maximize the recovery of stolen weapons. The industry taking on the financial liability will find that this is in their interest. And they would pay for these programs, not taxpayers.

Cancelled policies – Can’t afford the gun anymore?

If your insurance policy is cancelled, you must immediately sell the gun (preferably through a licensed dealer) or give it up to be destroyed. Whoever buys the gun must prove that they are insured to own it immediately. Otherwise, you and your current insurer are responsible for the recovery of the gun and any ammunition. Liability does not end until it is all accounted for and either turned in to any police station to be destroyed or it must be sold legally. If your insurer needs to sue you for the missed premiums, that’s between you and them because neither of you are off the hook for any future civil liability if it is used in a crime. If you fail to pay, the insurer may obtain a court order to confiscate the gun from you very easily. The police may assist in the confiscation and they may charge a hefty fee for doing so, but it is the responsibility of the insurer.

Personal Responsibility. Free Market solution.

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, libertarians.

Today (or yesterday, I guess – Monday Aug 29) I went out to run a few errands around town. It didn’t really occur to me to be on the lookout for hippies and gypsies. But our favorite guests are back in town again and I didn’t even think to notice it was time for them yet.

For background, I live in Reno, Nevada. We are the closest REALLY BIG city to the dried lakebed in the middle of the desert where “Burning Man” occurs every year.

Burning man is a long tradition of the Northern California Hippies and newer generations of young open-minded kids. I’ve never been but I would love to go sometime. They get together in the middle of the desert, owned by the US Bureau of Land Management, as much of Nevada is. The BLM has some tough requirements for them. And the attendees are very good conservationist liberals so they all respect the rules. But they do run around in funniy outfits or no outfits at all. Boys in Tutus? Girls in Speedo’s? Yup. Many just ride their bicycles around naked. And the drugs are a-plenty. Oh to be young again. I used to be invited to come along every year when I lived in Northern California. I really wish, now, that I had taken them up on it.

Anyhoo, I didn’t realize it was all starting up today and I went out to run some errands. One of them was to drop by the Wal-Mart and pick up a few items, since it was nearby to my other tasks. When I got there, I was shocked at how busy the parking lot was. There were at least 20, maybe 30 RV’s and many rental trucks, vans, flatbed trucks, everything.

I went in wondering just what’s going on. When I got inside I realized. Gypsies and hippies everywhere. Scantily clad ladies – and hot, lightly-clothed men that haven’t shaved in days. So hot. And all just floating around so happily.

This is when I realized that Burning Man must be starting up today. They were stopping in to buy some additional supplies before going over the hill and down the long dirt road to get to their destination. Most of them already had their plans all set and had bought most of their stuff for meals and such, as they tend to plan these as shared community meals and each individual is only responsible for one meal (for a large group) out of the week and a half, if they’re in big enough a group.

This Burning Man thing is not just a small event anymore. something like 40,000 people go each year now and probably double that number wish to go but can’t. There are restrictions on how many are allowed by the BLM. So it’s gotten expensive (like $300 per person bought directly. Scalped tickets go for $1500+ once those sell out.) People from all around the world fly in now to attend this event. It is now Reno/Tahoe Airport’s busiest time of year, just accommodating all of the “Burners.” Local casinos market to them to spend a day or two either before or after their venture into the desert. Many take them up on it and it’s great for business.

Back to the Wal-Mart experience, though. I only needed a few items: French Bread, Bananas, Limes, V-8 Juice, Tonic Water, Gin and Beer. Produce Department and bakery, no problem. Most of the other stuff, no problem. But then I get to the liquor department for the Gin. Nothing. Normally that 50 yard aisle has many thousands of bottles of liquor but today, basically – nothing. 95% of everything I would normally see was raided. Gone. They had some beer, but not the brand I wanted to buy. And so I checked the next aisle where they keep the wine. Almost all gone and a guy from the wine distributor desperately trying to restock it with no luck. The gypsies just kept taking it all as fast as he put it out. Apparently the beer distributor had this figured out (as they should) and they had guys re-building the pyramids of (warm) beer in the aises as fast as people loaded into their carts.

It seems insane but if you’re gonna party in the middle of the desert for a week and a half, unable to leave,  you need alot of party favors – of various varieties – and it’s alot less expensive buying your alcohol in Nevada than in California, where most of the Burners come from.

However, I heard a few different European languages being spoken amongst the shoppers at Wal-Mart today. They really do come from everywhere. I felt sorry for them not finding their preferred liquors in the liquor department and thought about telling them where else to go to buy them. But I realized that’s more trouble than it’s worth. Giving directions to out-of the-way liquor stores is a bit much when dealing with foreigners.

When I got to the check-out stand, I asked the cashier how her day has been serving the Burners. She said it’s been great, but she’s had some strange ones. Just before me, there was a guy buying nothing but beer, wine and liquor – $1400 worth. That’s it.

Wow. Just wow.

Seriously though. Reno/Sparks/Tahoe just loves our “Burners” every year. They rent up all of our RV’s and travel trailers. They buy thousands of bicycles for their desert visit, and many donate them back to charity at the end of their stay. They buy all of our bottled water. They buy millions of dollars in liquor, wine and beer. And many of them stop in for the big national rib cook-off competition and stay in a hotel/casino for a day or two surrounding their trip. Our airport is jam-packed and many extra flights are added to accommodate them. Who could ask for more?

Burning Man is awesome for the economy and also for the  event itself.

By the way, I had to go to my little neighborhood grocery store in order to buy my Gin and Tonic, as there was none of either left at Wal-Mart.

This last month or so, the city has been repairing/replacing/updating all of the curbs, sidewalks crosswalks, etc in my neighborhood. A real good use of money since there’s a school next door and lots of multi-family buildings with lots of  pedestrian traffic and the old sidewalks/curbs were in pretty sad shape and not handicap-accessible at the corners.

Well, I just came home and noticed a big sign that the city put up announcing the project and that it is being paid for with mostly Stimulus Bill dollars, plus some local gas tax money. It’s probably created 100 new badly needed construction jobs (easily) and they’re moving on into other older neighborhoods like mine to continue doing more of it. It’s about time.

I understand they’re also building a new freeway onramp/offramp in town that will give better access to the big mall in town and alleviate alot of the traffic congestion on the city streets around that part of town.

Are any of you noticing this kind of projects going on near you, identified as Recovery Act spending?

Lately I have been watching and reading so much of the political discussion and the narrative needs a shift. So much talk about the “harshness” of campaigns and such. Harsh? We have not seen harsh yet. It seems that the public wants a fight and the mis-statements of Obama’s positions from the Clinton Campaign aren’t a fair fight.

So far, Obama has done a fair job of defending his positions and correcting the record, while keeping his campaign message on the high road. As a result, Obama’s starting to look like a political coward.

Isn’t it time to take a jab at the Clintons? Really hit ’em hard with what will hurt them most – their own divisive words. It could be done through surrogates, but wouldn’t it be nice to see it come from the campaign itself?  

I would propose taking swing after swing through the week leading up to February 5. One new attack a day, alongside all of the positive stories of Obama’s unique story and his inspirational message. All of the attacks should document themselves, with video footage of Hill and Bill contradicting themselves. Remind us of the ugliness of politics in the 90’s with the Clintons at the helm, Hillary’s poll-driven decision-making, her record on the Iraq war. All should pass the most stringent Truth-Squad type analysis. It shouldn’t be that hard to find the needed material, considering the political histories of the Clintons.

I think the “media narrative” could change in a big way if Obama goes on offense. Most importantly, it will make it all more interesting to the media, as they love controversy. The pundits all love a good fight and they’re all anxious, like a pack of rabid wolves, ready to get behind the presumptive winner and yearning for blood. We’ve seen this lately and Obama has been portrayed as the “victim,” and therefore the “loser.”

We need to shift the narrative. She has shown herself to be a ruthless fighter. Time to take off the gloves…

Remember when Hillary recently decried that the Iowa caucus system disenfranchised voters because they’re all held at the same time and whatnot? I agree that caucuses are, by their nature, designed to have a low turnout, leaving a higher concentration of devoted party insiders to decide the path of the state party. I really don’t like the idea of caucuses, either…

Well, this year in Nevada we got a chance to move our caucuses up earlier, becoming the first western state to participate in the primary process. So the state party set out to do whatever they could to increase participation by rank and file party members. As part of this, they put the caucuses on a Saturday morning and, to accommodate the high concentration of unionized party members in Las Vegas who work in the massive hotels and casinos, they established nine “At-Large” caucus sites right on the Vegas strip so that people working at the time of the caucuses could participate. They made arrangements with management and the Unions for the workers to be able to take the time and participate in the democratic process without having to go all the way to their home precincts and participate there. And everybody involved thought it was a great idea. Even all of the candidates.

Now this: See this story…

Since Hillary didn’t win the coveted Culinary Workers Union endorsement in Nevada, she’s working through the Teachers Union as a surrogate to have the at-large caucus sites on the Las Vegas strip, which were designed for these 24/7 employees to be able to participate, shut down so they can’t.

The lawsuit is bullshit and it will hopefully be tossed because the identified victims (janitors opening up schools for use as caucus sites) are free to participate in the caucus being held at that school as long as it is too far away from their designated caucus site (near their homes) to get there on time. Basically, in the Nevade Dem caucuses, if you show up at the wrong site, you will not be turned away as long as you’re in the right county.

She really does play by the Rove playbook, doesn’t she? She’s determined to win, regardless of how many bridges she has to burn gettiing there.