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“A 4-year-old found a loaded gun — and shot his pregnant mother in the face, police say”
And
[NRA Court Filings against 1639] “The lawsuit challenges the measure on the grounds that it violates the commerce clause by banning sales of rifles to non-residents, and that it unconstitutionally impairs the rights guaranteed by the First, Second and Fourteenth Amendments, and Article I Section 24 of the Washington State constitution by preventing the sale to otherwise qualified adults under age 21 of certain rifles.”
THIS happening in the same courts, at the same time as THIS means a solid chance of the landmark legislation in question entering our national conversation. Finally.
INITIATIVE 1639 is part of a new movement in gun control — the “tax-don’t-take” school of thought — which seeks to move toward a system of firearm insurance.
It’s a simple proposal: own a firearm? Then you must own insurance to cover any damages caused by that firearm — just like auto insurance.
As of right now, I support any such measures 100%. I’ve yet to hear a single solid counterargument for the concept (I remain [polemically] accessible if you think you’ve cracked the code).
I’m more than a few spacetime-dilated-parsecs away from thrilled about our slow subsumption into The Nanny State, but I sure as hell grant capital-S Society the right to pass the costs of dimwitted individual choices onto the dimwitted individual citizens partaking.
And make no mistake — that’s what taxes/insurance costs are. You smoke? You’re costing us more in healthcare. Drive? You’re costing us wear and tear on the roads (not to mention environmental concerns). Drink? Healthcare and law enforcement costs. Cannabis? All of the above.1
Why not the same with literal weapons of war?
Extrapolated all the way out, this all basically boils down to one fundamental belief: assess every individual’s impact on our environment and society, and tax them accordingly.
e.g Want a private jet? Sure thing — but in addition to the jet, you’ll be paying enough in taxes to offset the carbon emissions. Them’s the breaks on this, our shared, single planetary body.
The United States Constitution states that all [cough cough] are created equal, and therefore ought to be afforded the same opportunities as any other. But that’s a question of potential.
Reality can be taxed.
For the record: I speak as a philosdactyl who engages, has strong plans to engage, or has engaged in the past with each and every vice listed above. Often concurrently.↩︎