Insurance Carriers Say Guns Increase Risk

One of the primary arguments used by the right-wing to deny that gun laws need to be strengthened is the idea that having more guns in the hands of more people will increase the safety of everyone. The idea is that someone carrying a gun can prevent a criminal or madman from killing innocent people.

This flies in the face of reality. The truth is that in many mass shootings there have been people with guns, and that prevented nothing. A good example is the shooting a while back in Phoenix (that killed several people and seriously wounded Rep. Gabby Giffords). Several people in the crowd had guns, but the shooter was stopped by unarmed civilians acting quickly -- and not by anyone in the crowd with a gun. The same is true of most other shootings.

It also denies the findings of statistics, which clearly show that the rate of gun deaths goes up with the rate of gun ownership in a society. The United States, which has the highest rate of gun ownership (and easy availability), also has the highest death rate due to guns. While the idea of a heroic armed citizen defending people may sound good, the truth is that it just doesn't work that way in the real world (where it is far more likely that armed citizen will shoot an innocent person, probably even a family member, than shoot some criminal/madman). And those who deal daily with reality know that.

In Kansas, a state controlled by right-wing Republicans, the legislature recently followed the logic that more guns means more safety. They passed a law that would allow school employees (teachers, custodians, etc.) to carry guns in the state's schools. But while the legislature believed this would make schools safer, those who insure the school districts believed just the opposite. EMC Insurance, which insures nearly 90% of the state's schools, said they would refuse to renew insurance coverage for any school that allowed the carrying on guns on school property.

The insurance company said their decision did not involve politics. They simply believed it would substantially increase the risk of someone getting shot on school property (and therefore them having to pay out a huge sum for that shooting). In short, the insurance companies risk assessors are convinced that more guns means more risk -- not more safety.

This should not come as a surprise to anyone who thinks clearly. I believe even the right-wingers who oppose gun laws know this. They just refuse to publicly admit it, because the "safety" argument has been effective for them in opposing stricter gun laws -- and they don't want to give it up.

There is a way for the safety of innocent people to be enhanced, and that is to force all gun buyers to undergo a background check (even in private sales, gun show sales, and internet sales). This is supported by most Americans (even most gun owners), and it should be done without delay.

And schools should remain gun-free.