Hoverboards – arguably the hottest holiday gift -- are becoming harder to buy because of safety concerns. Most no longer appear on Amazon’s website, for example. But guns are as easy to buy as ever. Why so much concern about the safety of hoverboards and so little about the safety of guns? Because someone injured by a hoverboard can sue both the manufacturer and the retailer who sold it, and get damages for the injuries. But someone injured by a gun cannot. Gun manufacturers and retailers have shielded themselves from liability through a 2005 law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
We should repeal that act, and go even further. House Rep. Carolyn Maloney recently introduced a bill that would require gun owners to carry liability insurance before being allowed to purchase a weapon. It’s logical: We require insurance to own a car, but no such requirement exists for guns. Liability can alter behavior. Car fatalities have declined 25 percent in the last decade but gun fatalities continue to rise.
What do you think?
Robert Reich
We should repeal that act, and go even further. House Rep. Carolyn Maloney recently introduced a bill that would require gun owners to carry liability insurance before being allowed to purchase a weapon. It’s logical: We require insurance to own a car, but no such requirement exists for guns. Liability can alter behavior. Car fatalities have declined 25 percent in the last decade but gun fatalities continue to rise.
What do you think?
Robert Reich
