this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2024
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Maryland House Democrats introduced a controversial gun safety bill requiring gun owners to forfeit their ability to wear or carry without firearm liability insurance.

Introduced by Del. Terri Hill, D-Howard County, the legislation would prohibit the “wear or carry” of a gun anywhere in the state unless the individual has obtained a liability insurance policy of at least $300,000.

"A person may not wear or carry a firearm unless the person has obtained and it covered by liability insurance issued by an insurer authorized to do business in the State under the Insurance Article to cover claims for property damage, bodily injury, or death arising from an accident resulting from the person’s use or storage of a firearm or up to $300,000 for damages arising from the same incident, in addition to interest and costs,” the proposed Maryland legislation reads.

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[–] mob@sopuli.xyz 62 points 10 months ago (6 children)

I'm not very opinionated on guns tbh, but I do think this only makes it more difficult for poor people. I'm not sure I agree with that.

[–] endhits@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That's the exact point of these bills. Don't ever assume that safety is the priority of these bills. They don't want the working poor to have rights.

[–] Brcht@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

But it also makes sure you get paid something in case accidents, at least in theory.

It's ridiculously easy to do 300k plus of accidental damages misusing a gun, but most people don't have 300k to pay even if a court orders them to.

[–] olivebranch@lemmy.ca 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Great, if my child is shot dead in school by some rich kid, at least I get 300k to pay for child funeral. /s

[–] Brcht@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I mean, it IS better than nothing. But I'm mostly referring to stupid accidents (poorly mantained gun exploding or dude playing with the safe and accidentally firing injuring someone) 300k is a whole lot better than 0

[–] olivebranch@lemmy.ca 3 points 10 months ago

This is how working class constantly loses power and rich constantly get more privileges. They complain about a policy that affects them more than the rich, some "left-wing" rich politician says "ok, we will change it, but only for the poor" and they are like "I guess it's the start" and the end goal never comes. Imagine if this was done during Black Panter movement, where now they can't arm themselves because the are disproportionly poorer. Gangs can still get illegal guns, shot unarmed civilians and make poor naigboorhoods even less safe, while rich kids can feel even safer to go armed and pick a fight with civil-rights protesters. Any law that affects the working class more negatively than the rich is making things worse, not better.

[–] lingh0e@sh.itjust.works 4 points 10 months ago (2 children)

It probably makes it more difficult for MOST people. I don't know what the stats are on people who want to carry a firearm in public are, income-wise... but I feel like that's an impossible amount of money for most of them to spend on something like carrying a gun.

[–] perishthethought@lemm.ee 25 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'm not sure about this legislation either, really, but they're not being asked to spend $300,000, just to be able to get an insurance policy for that amount.

[–] lingh0e@sh.itjust.works 12 points 10 months ago

Yeah. I'm a goon who forgot how insurance works.

[–] SkippingRelax@lemmy.world -5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Impossible anount! How are they going to survive if they vantage carry a deadly weapons in public?

[–] olivebranch@lemmy.ca 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Then why not ban everybody? Why do rich people always get an exception? Nobody here is saying banning guns is a bad idea, we are saying that it is exactly right wing point of view that only passes a law that affects the poor. Now the rich republicans that use the anger of rural working class for their own benefit, don't have to be worried of that armed working class rebelling against them, when they fuck them over. Now they the rich can both keep the guns, get more power over poor and go and lie to rural working class that it is the left that took away their guns, and say nothing about how they were fine with it, because it doesn't affect them.

[–] SkippingRelax@lemmy.world -1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I'm fine with banning everyone. This bill is a bit different, think about car insurance hasn't been mandatory and someone is proposing to make it so. Everyone screams it's not fair, the poor are not allowed to drive anymore. I can sympathize in principle, but hey you live in the us

[–] olivebranch@lemmy.ca 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You are taking existing laws for granted. Car insurance has the same problem. Rich people drive cars, poor people don't. Then you defund public transport and give more power to the rich over the working class. In few years, people would take gun insurance for granted. It will be normal for rich people to own the guns are poor people to be defenseless. Just think about Black Panter movement and what this bill would mean if they were still around today.

[–] SkippingRelax@lemmy.world -1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Genuinely ignorant on the topic, not from the us.. Wouldn't they just buy guns from the black market (no pun intended) and skip insurance altogether? In fact, isn't that what the BP were probably doing, using unregistered illegal firearms?

[–] olivebranch@lemmy.ca 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

But that is the point, one group can own them legally, while others can't. Black Panters didn't go a out of their way to break the law. If they can do it legally, they would. They didn't want to give cops any reasons to arrest them. A lot of working class movements are perfectly legal, it is the ruling class that tries to think of excuses to either discredit them or simply arrest them or kill them. in the end it is the state that stopped Black Panters and frame them as some violent group. Their focus was on education., community run daycares and etc. They were attacked by white nationalists so they would legally arm themselves and patrol their areas. This was the only time that NRA supported gun control and Mulford Act was passed. It was never about right to have guns, no one really believes that. It is about the right for the powerful to have weapons to protect from the working class, and not the other way around.

[–] SkippingRelax@lemmy.world 0 points 10 months ago

Yeah sorry as I said i don't know much on the BP topic and it sounds that the little I know is stereotypes from reading your comments

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, I am anti gun, but if I lived in America, I'd definitely have one

[–] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That is cause the US is such a shithole, you need a gun to feel safe.

Just like any other developing nation with a gun problem.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 1 points 10 months ago

Exactly. My values aren't going to matter when the reality hits of some bloke holding my family hostage. I would need to have the tools available to eliminate that scallywag immediately

[–] kromem@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

IIRC, shooting someone in self-defense can still add up to about $500,000 in legal costs.

I'm not sure enforcing liability insurance makes it harder on poorer people as much as helps them potentially avoid insurmountable financial hardship should they ever need to use their CCW.

[–] olivebranch@lemmy.ca 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

@mob expressed himself wrong. It doesn't really hurt the poor people directly, but it does transfer even more power to rich by allowing them to arm themselves and stopping anyone from working class to do so as well. It is ultimately a right-wing bill disguised as left-wing, as all laws end up being in the end.

[–] kromem@lemmy.world 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

A $1 million umbrella policy is like $200/year.

Who can afford guns but not a $300k insurance policy to avoid going bankrupt if they have to use them?

[–] olivebranch@lemmy.ca 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Maybe people with bad credit scores? If everyone can afford it, why make it into a bill? Is it just marketing for politicains so they can just pretend they are doing something about it, or are they actively discriminating from the poor.

[–] kromem@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If everyone can afford it, why make it into a bill?

The same reason you need car insurance to drive or medical insurance?

Because even if most can afford the insurance, most can't afford the costs when they'd need the insurance but don't have it?

[–] olivebranch@lemmy.ca 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

With medical insurance the money goes to paying the hospital bill. We need insurance to cover the costs. What do I get with a gun insurance? Cost for what? Free guns? If I get nothing in return, I should pay nothing.

[–] kromem@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

It's to cover things like payouts in suits against you for shooting someone or paying your legal bills (which can exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars even when it's clearly self-defense).

Owning a gun isn't that expensive. But should you ever have to use it for your safety, even when justified, it could bankrupt you.

That's exactly the kind of situation where mandated insurance is a wise thing to require.

[–] Tbird83ii@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 10 months ago

I think you are the first person in this thread to understand that $300k is the policy amount, not the cost...