It is not surprising in the aftermath of the horrific Connecticut school shootings to see lawmakers at both the state and federal levels trying to identify new ways to curb gun-related violence. One of the more novel, if misguided, approaches has been to propose mandatory liability insurance for gun owners.
By the end of March, legislators in Congress and at least seven states—Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Illinois—had filed legislation to require that gun owners purchase liability insurance.
It is apparent from public statements of proponents that the objective of these bills is to somehow reduce acts of violence involving guns. For instance, a Massachusetts state representative who attracted nationwide publicity after he filed legislation containing a gun insurance mandate was quoted by the New York Times as saying, "I believe that if we get the private sector and insurance companies involved in gun safety, we can help prevent a number of gun tragedies every year."
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.