The Washington State Legislature will be reviewing a new bill put forth by Sen. Maralyn Chase (D-Edmonds), who wants to require a person to have liability insurance before he or she can purchase a firearm. Under Senate Bill 5795, every gun purchaser must possess liability insurance that covers the potential use of a firearm for self-defense. Even private sellers would have to make sure their buyers also have insurance. The only exception would be for law enforcement personnel who use firearms as part of their day-to-day duties.

Should the seller fail to comply with the law, if passed, a $10,000 fine would be imposed.

But of course, Sen. Chase refuses to admit her proposed legislation is another piece of gun control legislation.

“I fully believe in Second Amendment rights, however, with those rights come great responsibilities,” Sen. Chase said in a statement. “We see the destructive power of guns almost nightly on the news and yet we do not require gun owners to have any type of liability insurance. Requiring liability insurance may cause an irresponsible gun owner to exercise extra care in preventing firearm-related accidents, especially in tragic accidents involving children.”

How would having liability insurance make someone exercise even more care than they already would? Sen. Chase must forget that the law-abiding gun owners she’s trying to impose these sanctions on take gun ownership seriously. None of us want to use our firearm to harm someone unless our lives or the lives of our loved ones are threatened.