By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher, GwinnettForum
JULY 13, 2018 | Many of the 78 candidates GwinnettForum has interviewed so far this year in our offices have been asked the question, “What can be done about school shootings?”
So far, we’ve heard no overall innovative solution. Mostly, the candidates are as perplexed as most people are on how to stop these horrible incidents.
A common theme we’ve heard is that our nation must do something to identify people who show signs of problems, so that we can give them some help. Yet time and time again, our nation has found that this plan has not worked. Perhaps authorities, teachers and even those close to disturbed students are too lenient on identifying these problem people. So far no easily-recognized and accepted overall workable solution has come to the fore.
What is so frustrating is that some suggestions on controlling these shootings seem to work, but then are not acceptable to some groups because they violate on one or another of our long-cherished American freedoms. So, it gets shot down!
It’s interesting that there are more of these random mass school shootings in the United States than anywhere else in the world. And yes, some of these may come about because people in the United States have all these freedoms, such as gun ownership, which many other countries do not have, and therefore, don’t have all this gun violence.
Australia by legislation has freed itself from fatal mass shootings. Germany, Finland and Scotland have new policies that have curbed shootings, having no school shootings in the last decade.
One candidate we’ve talked to came up with a distinctive idea about school shootings. His idea would be that every gun owner be required by government decree to have gun insurance, similar to auto insurance being required.
This would allow private enterprise insurance companies to enter the picture. Granted, that might not solve the school shooter problem, but if that gun was used in a shooting, the private owner’s gun insurance would kick in and at least compensate the victim(s) of the shooting.
You might think the National Rifle Association (NRA) would not get on board with this idea. However, if gun ownership insurance was required by our governments, you can bet that the NRA would be the first to draw up such insurance plans, and find a profit in selling these plans to its members. In reality, if such talks became serious, even before any legislation was approved, we suspect the NRA would be working on such a plan, and time the law was implemented, the NRA would start hawking their insurance plan.
While other current Georgia candidates we’ve talked with have themselves little to offer in this area, perhaps this single suggestion of gun owner’s private insurance might be a trial balloon for candidates for the office of State Insurance Commissioner. Such an idea would allow the candidates to perfect such a plan for presentation as their contribution to the mass school shooting solution. That would be a major contribution by the candidates for insurance commissioner that might be welcomed by other states as one way to help at least the victims of mass shootings.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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