OFF THE WIRE
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Massachusetts bill would require gun liability insurance
Gun owners would have to buy insurance
Published 6:19 AM EST Jan 18, 2013
BOSTON —Massachusetts gun owners would be required
to purchase liability insurance in case their firearm was ever used to injure
someone under a bill being filed at the Statehouse.
The initiative is
included in a gun control measure which would also change standards for gun
licenses and outlaw large capacity magazines.
Under the bill being filed
Friday, individuals applying for gun permits in Massachusetts would have to show
proof of firearms insurance.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. David Linksy,
compared the change to the requirement that car owners have auto insurance
before registering their vehicles.
Linksy said requiring insurance could
create market-based gun safety incentives.
Gun owners could see their
insurance drop, say, if they agreed to take a firearms training course and
properly stored their weapons.
Gov. Deval Patrick is pushing his own gun
control
measure.