10-06-2017, 01:19 AM
pdq wrote:
...do a world of good... making gun (or other weapon) manufacturers have to face civil liability to the victims of folks using their products, as they are intended to be used. If someone has a relative who gets stabbed by a kitchen knife, the manufacturer of that knife can reasonably and believably point to the predominant, intended use of their product in chopping vegetables in defense.
AR-15s are meant to kill people, and everyone knows that. Just make their manufacturer (and retailer) liable for it's intended use, and the market would drop by 90% in a year.
I like this idea, but it lacks the kind of "let the market decide" philosophy given lip service by so many elected representatives and their pundits. So I offer up an alternative...
Require "gun insurance" - modeled very similarly to the auto industry. When a weapon or ammunition is purchased the acquirer must at that time also secure insurance, just like with a car. That insurance must cover injury and liability. Ammunition must be insured until it is expended, with a system of verification and/or fines for failure to document its usage.
The insurance goes to pay out the health treatment for those injured by guns or the families deprived of life of their loved ones killed by guns. Have some obvious exclusions for criminal case outcomes of self defense, suicide, and intentional injury/death with intent to collect a payout (i.e. you can't buy a gun and shoot your father to collect your inheritance.)
Hopefully this will quickly price many gun users out of the market and they'll have to hand over their weapons or face severe penalties for unlawful possession and use. After all, while there may be a right to bear arms, there is no right to OWN those arms any more than there is to food or shelter - you have to work to own that property! Thanks to Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin for that paraphrase.