Anyone who has ever held, fired or owned a gun has respect for it. It is a mistake to assume that all gun owners are gun nuts. It is also a mistake to assume that all gun owners have the same reason for owning guns.
Once we understand the differences we can become more effective in dealing with these various stakeholders.
Without knowing what percentage each is of the total, here are six possible categories of gun owners:
1. Hunters.
2. Competitive shooters.
3. People seeking protection when away from home.
4. People seeking protection from burglars and rapists at home.
5. Bullies and anti-establishment sovereign citizens seeking to intimidate others.
6. Career criminals, many of whom obtained their guns through home break-ins.
And because we all have the same human frailties, any one of these six could become irrational, fly off the handle, lose his or her temper or be pushed over the edge by unforeseen events.
As we do other personal property, we should agree that it makes sense to insure a gun against breakage, damage, mis-use and theft.
An argument needs to be fashioned to persuade legitimate gun owners that liability insurance must be part of that package. This must be presented in such a way as to not be interfering with one’s right to keep and bear arms as provided for under the Constitution’s Second Amendment. Statistics on gun thefts, and the subsequent injuries and crimes committed by people using stolen guns, along with insurance discounts, should convince all in the first five categories of gun owners on the need to prevent their guns from falling into the hands of the sixth category.
Once accomplished, insurance carriers will make people aware that how they handle their weapons affects the price of insurance coverage.
This is similar to other forms of insurance.
· Non-smokers get discounts on auto, health and fire insurance.
· Driver-Ed graduates get discounts on auto insurance.
· Owners of sprinkler-equipped homes get discounts on homeowners insurance.
The thrust needs to be on assuring the safety of others –i.e., preventing accidents-- without compromising the safety of the gun owner.
Hunters and competitive shooters ought to be able to see the wisdom of keeping guns and ammo separate and locked. They should welcome a discount for doing what they see as sensible anyway.
People who carry guns –either visible or concealed—for protection when they are away from home can be educated to carry weapons locked and ammunition separately. A discount on insurance should be helpful in educating them.
People who keep guns on their nightstands or under their pillows might not see the wisdom of keeping weapons and ammunition separately. They may see rapid response as crucial to their perceived need for security at home. But they can be shown the wisdom of not keeping guns on counter-tops, coffee-tables and the like when they are not at home. Statistics on gun thefts, and the subsequent injuries and crimes committed by people using stolen guns, along with insurance discounts, should convince the home-security gun-owner that no one is abridging his or her right to keep and bear arms.
These nightstand and under pillow gun owners also need to respect the danger that their guns represent to welcome visitors –let alone to themselves when tempers flare.
