Treat guns like cars
Fred Grimm’s Aug. 15 column, ‘Self defense’ takes a bloody toll in Florida, was another outstanding piece that illustrated how misguided America is about guns. Many of the recent gun accidents he cites were caused by romantic notions of how tough and cool we are when holding a gun, while many others reveal the necessity of real gun-safety training.
My wife’s idea for gun safety laws are to treat guns like cars: You can’t buy one without a license and liability insurance. After all, cars don’t kill people; irresponsible drivers do. Gun advocates love to speak of the rights of “responsible gun owners,” but we do nothing as a nation to ensure that gun owners are responsible.
This would in no way infringe upon the rights of citizens to own guns, but would at least improve gun safety and provide reimbursement to those injured. It would make owning a gun more expensive, but no more than owning a car.
Michael Raphael, Miami
This story was originally published August 17, 2015 at 7:32 PM with the headline "Treat guns like cars."