Treat weapons the same way as vehicles

Here is a way to curb gun deaths: For starters, all guns should be registered and their histories recorded the way vehicles are. In order to own and operate a gun you must have a license, to get the license you must show proficiency by taking a test with a gun licensing agent.

This agent would be your first test that a lot of disturbed people would not get past.

Once you have a license you then would have to get liability insurance for each gun you own.

If your gun causes damage the insurance would pay out to the victim of the damage.

If you have too many incidents or if you have a record of violence your rates are going to go up.

Just like bad drivers.

Liability insurance is cheap, typically $20 or $30 a month, insurance companies have actuaries that track statistics and histories, which will help weed out insurance risks and price policies accordingly.

The way the law is now the victims of mass shootings get no compensation, if similar damage was caused by a vehicle they would receive millions.

Things would change very quickly if this idea was invoked.

The Second Amendment would stand unchanged and a new market for insurance would be created.

Everybody wins.

Rod Wickham

Everett

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Tuesday, May 14

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks to a reporter as his 2024 gubernatorial campaign launch event gets underway in Seattle, on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. ( Jerry Cornfield/Washington State Standard)
Editorial: Recruiting two Bob Fergusons isn’t election integrity

A GOP activist paid the filing fee for two gubernatorial candidates who share the attorney general’s name.

Foster parent abstract concept vector illustration. Foster care, father in adoption, happy interracial family, having fun, together at home, childless couple, adopted child abstract metaphor.
Editorial: State must return foster youths’ federal benefits

States, including Washington, have used those benefits, rather than hold them until adulthood.

Ross Douthat: Moralism has its limits in Middle East and U.S.

Noting about this can be reduced to a single moral argument. But, then, that’s always been the case.

Nicholas Kristof: If only Biden had used leverage sooner

The president is right to delay bomb shipments to Israel. Used earlier it could have saved children.

Maureen Dowd: Stormy Daniels was Trump’s bad character witness

Making no apologies, the porn star testified to Trump’s immoral values, reminding voters who Trump is.

David French: What transforms daughter’s doubts about strength

Confronting uncertainty over the health of her unborn daughter now serves her as an adult child.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Monday, May 13

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Comment: Will voters kill nation’s first long-term care program

Washington has its WA Cares fund, and other states are interested. But will it live past November?

This is a set of Cannabis product icons. This is a set of simple icons that can be used for website decoration, user interface, advertising works, and other digital illustrations.
Comment: What you need to know before talking about cannabis

Legalization has invited new forms — and higher potency — of the drug and its effect on youths’ health.

Bret Stpehens: Withholding arms won’t help end the bloodshed

Biden’s blunder will end up hurting Israel, Palestinian civilians and Biden’s chances at reelection.

Thomas L. Friedman: What protesters on both sides get wrong

If ‘from the river to the sea’ only means either Israel or Palestine, you’re part of the problem.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.