Would gun liability insurance lessen firearm related violence?

AGAWAM, Mass. (WWLP) - The latest proposal in the gun debate is a proposal to require Massachusetts gun owners to purchase liability insurance.

This new bill would hold gun owners more accountable, but not everyone thinks this is enough to address the issue of gun control.

Natick State Representative David Linsky filed a bill that would require someone applying for gun permits to show proof of firearms insurance. However, some say this is just more government regulation aimed at law-abiding gun owners.

“ think gun owners would find that to be another burdensome intrusion like making me pay for owning my gun. I's better than nothing but it doesn't get at the real problem that we just have way too many guns in this country,” said Bob Normand of Holyoke.

The sponsor of the bill compared the change to car insurance and the requirement that someone have auto insurance before registering their vehicle.

This would provide liability coverage in case a gun owner's firearm was ever used to hurt someone. Both the victim and the gun owner would be protected.

“[The victim] may not be able to recover anything if that person has no assets and they sued them so I think this proposal is an effort to try to have a financial mechanism that would pay people who were victims of some sort of gun accident,” said Bill Trudeau President of the Insurance Center of New England.

Currently there's coverage in the standard homeowners policy for liability that happened through an accident but not in the case if the gun is stolen.

Trudy Monson of Holyoke said, “I think that's a pretty good thing. As long as they’re registered and they make sure the gun owners are registered I don't think I have a problem with that and do background checks on them.”

It's too early to know how much this liability insurance would cost the average gun owner.