General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: 2nd Encounter of the Day.... Over guns this time [View all]krispos42
(49,445 posts)It's why I don't make those kinds of analogies too much.
When a car is in an accident, there is property damage even if nobody is hurt. Damaged cars need to be repaired; totaled cars need to be replaced. This is the bulk of insurance claims, I would think; repairing fenders and bumpers and broken lights and grills.
Repairs are costly, and cars are expensive. For most people, a car purchase is the second or third biggest thing they'll ever buy in their life (aside from a house or a college education). So spending a few dozen dollars a month on car insurance spreads the background cost of these kinds of accidents among many people and many years.
Guns don't get damaged when they're in an accident. I'm not going to file a claim because I dropped my 1911 at the range and scratched the finish or damaged the sights. If I, the legitimate and legal owner of a gun, use it for self-defense because I am attacked, then the people that are attacking me should be held liable for any incidental damages to a situation they caused and forced up on me.
If I, the legitimate and legal owner of a gun, decided to go out and start committing crimes, then I expect to be held liable in a court of law for any damages that I cause, up to and including having my bank account seized, my car forfeited, and my home having a lien placed on it.
And if I'm careless with my gun, and leave it out and a kid finds it, then there are appropriate and established legal channels for that to be dealt with as well.