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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 11, 2022 02:02 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Dan Frankel |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Requiring Liability Insurance for Gun Owners |
| Soon, I will introduce legislation to require gun owners to obtain firearm liability insurance to obtain a license to carry. Requiring firearm owners to obtain liability insurance will help the victims of gun-related injuries and deaths by paying out damages in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. With no liability insurance requirement in place, the costs of these damages to health and property often fall to the taxpayer and the victim. On average over 70,000 individuals are discharged from hospitals each year with firearm-related injuries in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that $852 million was spent on non-fatal care for those hospitalized with firearm-related injuries, with much of the cost burden being laid on the US taxpayer. Records from a study done on specifically unintentional firearm injuries found handguns -- not sportsmen’s weapons -- were the most common type of firearm used in accidental shootings. With a rising rate of gunshot injuries increasing in the United States, this burden of health costs will also continue to rise. Under my bill, insurance companies will be positioned to encourage and incentivize proper precautions and best practices among gun owners like safe storage and gun safety courses, leading to fewer death and injuries across the commonwealth. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation to ensure that Pennsylvania’s gun owners, just like its car owners, are responsible for any harm they may cause. |