NH: House Committee to Hear Legislation to Require Liability Insurance to Own a Gun

(From the NRA-ILA website)

Is anyone in NH who is on this site following this "gun control" bill?

(Thank goodness for Red, 2A-friendly Southern states!)

*****


On Thursday, January 21, at 1:45 p.m., the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing in the Legislative Office Building Room 302 to discuss radical anti-gun legislation.

House Bill 1368, sponsored by state Representative Katherine Rogers (Merrimack-D), would require the seller, purchaser and owner of a firearm to be covered by a liability insurance policy. This misguided proposal is clearly an unconstitutional condition and is without merit or precedent in law.

Proponents of this legislation will comparatively argue that in much of the country individuals are required by law to insure their automobiles. However, mandated auto insurance is a precondition that relates to the privilege of driving on public roads, not of automobile ownership.

Many, if not most, insurers do not even provide firearm specific liability insurance coverage. In fact, many insurance companies exclude coverage for claims arising from firearm ownership.

Clearly, firearm liability insurance will have no effect on the criminal misuse of firearms; however, it will have onerous effects for law-abiding gun owners. Under mandated insurance, gun owners could be liable for any criminal act involving the insured firearm, even if it was reported lost or stolen. In addition, the unreasonable fines of up to $10,000 imposed on those who fail to purchase mandated liability insurance could be financially crippling.

Law-abiding gun owners should not have to pay to exercise their constitutional rights, and individuals lacking financial resources should not be forced to decide between defending their families and putting food on the table.

https://www.nraila.org/articles/201...quire-liability-insurance-to-simply-own-a-gun

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billText.aspx?id=729&txtFormat=html

Liability insurances don't cover intentional acts or acts of criminal negligence. The number of actual firearms accidents is quite low and even in those cases an insurance company can find legal ways not to pay out if there are no established standards, including who is insured against what exactly. The bill's sponsor has likely not even talked to a single insurance company about this. From NH Democrat Katherine Rogers’ De-Facto Gun Ban Bill:

In an email to their membership about the bill, Alan Rice of the New Hampshire Firearms Coalition writes,

We have made some informal inquiries and we cannot find even a single insurance company that sells such a policy. HB 1368 will create a statewide gun ban because either the required insurance will not be available for sale OR the insurance industry will realize that they have been given a green light by the legislature to fleece firearms owners who will now be required to purchase liability insurance and the cost will be astronomical. Maybe, $1,000, $1,500 or even $10,000 per year per policy. They might even charge a higher premium if you have a concealed carry license! Self-defense will be out of reach to all but the very affluent.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...