GLAPA - Gun Liability And Portability Act

Although this is vastly incomplete, it is the first attempt at meaningful legislation that might place a more shared responsibility to gun violence. I am sharinig this in order to get all kinds of feedback. Please be positive whether your comments are supportive of something like this or critical.

I am not really sure what I think of this, but I am just brainstorming creative alternatives to the following:

1. Do nothing.
2. Ban guns.
3. Blame everyone else.

So, here goes:

Liability:

1.      All guns purchased or owned must be registered.

2.      All ammunition purchased or owned must be registered.

3.      Gun possession without registered ownership is illegal.

4.      Gun owners must carry a gun liability insurance policy for every gun they own (similar to auto insurance).

5.      Gun owners must carry their proof of current insurance with them.

6.      Gun owners must disclose all “users” of the gun (like auto insurance).

7.      All disclosed “users” must follow all requirements of GLAPA.

8.      Gun owners must state the intended purpose for each gun owned (hunting, home safety, recreational range shooting etc)

9.      Gun owners must register each owned gun annually (like auto registration).

10.  Gun owners must pass a safety, storage, and use proficiency test on a regular basis (like auto drivers).

11.  Gun owners must renew their liability policy every six months (like auto insurance).

12.  Gun owners be assessed for the following risk factors for each renewal:

a.       Drug (legal, prescription, and illegal) and alcohol use

b.      Stress events (e.g. divorce, job change, etc)

c.       Mental health screening

d.      Criminal background

e.       Other known or suspected risk factors often associated with gun violence.

13.  Gun owners must submit to randomized drug tests in each 6 month period of coverage.

14.  Gun owners must have a complete liability policy in place for 48 hours prior to the purchase of a gun.

15.  No one may operate or handle a gun that is not registered to them or is not a designated “user” of that gun.  

 

Portability:

1.      Gun owners must not transport guns and/or ammunition outside of the stated use (e.g. guns designated home safety should never leave the house).

2.      Guns owners who live in one state, but use their guns and/or in another state must carry policies in both states (like fishing or hunting licenses).

3.      Guns owners who will cross state lines with their guns must notify both states of their transport 48 hours prior to travel.

4.      No one may carry a gun into a designated gun free zone

 

Enforcement:

1.      Law enforcement agents who have reasonable suspicion of any violation of GLAPA may use the same measures law enforcement are permitted to use as spelled out in the Alabama Immigration Law.

2.      Breaking GLAPA is a felony.

3.      Fraudulent claims are subject similar law on insurance fraud

4.      Federally recognized law enforcement and military are exempt from GLAPA while on duty.

Claims:

1.      Victims of gun violence may make a claim against the policy of the gun owner.

2.      Victims must not:

a.       Be engaged in gang violence as a gang member or associate while being shot

b.      Be intentionally or willfully a victim

c.       The victim of suicide or suicide attempt

3.      Claims may include:

a.       medical care costs

b.      mental health care costs

c.       associated damage to property

d.      associated damages such as lost income etc.

e.       funeral costs

4.      The validity of claims will be determined by policy informed and by law (this will have to be very detailed so as to define fraud and prevent abuse).

5.      Claims must be related to the gun violence (pre-existing conditions will not be covered)

Premiums:

1.      Premiums will be set by the following:

a.       Relative risk each type of gun owned based on research

b.      Relative risk of the gun owner PLUS the risk of all disclosed “users” as per the bi-annual risk assessments

c.       Relative of the amount of ammunition owned, purchased or possessed.  

d.      Fair and customary estimated profits for the insuring company.

Social Narratives of Violence and Mental Health

The tragic mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut is both heartbreaking and disturbing. We all ache and share the trauma of this unthinkable event. In the shock and grief, we are filled with questions. Some questions seek facts – what happened? Some questions seek the Divine – where was God? Some questions seek understanding – why did this happen?

In times of such pain and uncertainty we want answers sooner rather than later. We hope that perhaps answers will provide a little balm for the soul-wound we all feel. In our urgency to know, we run the risk of being satisfied with simple and incomplete answers.

Mental illness such a personality disorder and neurocognitive disorders such as Aspergers Syndrome (an Autism Spectrum Disorder) have been discussed extensively in media accounts of the Sandy Hook tragedy. In less formal conversations I have heard people defaulting to saying, “he was crazy.” It understandable to default to mental health answers in our urgency for the relief answers to impossible questions can provide, but we must also consider how these mental health social narratives impact the vast majority of people with mental illness or neurocognitive disorders who are not violent.

If we arrive at the simple conclusion that “he was crazy” or had a mental illness and go no further in our thinking or understanding, then what we have done is to situate anyone with a mental illness as potentially or likely dangerous. It will result in the social construction of stigma creating an environment ripe for discrimination, dismissal, and violence against people who fight daily against mental illness.

In order to help with the conversation about the intersection of violence and mental health, here are some facts:

· "…the vast majority of people who are violent do not suffer from mental illnesses”

(American Psychiatric Association, 1994)

· “People with mental illness are much more likely to be the victim of violence than the perpetrator.” (World Psychiatry. 2003 June; 2(2): 121–124)

In short, people who struggle against mental illness are not to be feared, but rather protected and advocated for. Here are a few tips on helping the conversation of mental health and violence.

1. Avoid simple answers that serve only to soothe our own anxieties, but do little by way of helping.

2. Put unhelpful words like “crazy” out of the social narratives of mass violence.

3. Engage in activities, organizations, and relationships in such a way that promotes the mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health of yourself and everyone around you.

Prayer in Schools

Student led and private student prayer is perfectly legal in 100% of schools in America. I encourage all students who pray to pray.
Pray on the bus to school. Pray between classes. Pray in the lunchroom. Pray before tests (probably already doing that).

Pray for your friends. Pray for those students who you think they think are better than you. Pray for your teachers - even the mean ones. Pray for that lonely student (and befriend her or him). Pray for the janitor. Pray for the hurried principal. Pray for the food service people.
Pray for the aching hearts, angry hearts, broken hearts. Pray for the scattered minds, frayed minds, distracted minds. Pray for the lonely souls, anxious souls, lost souls. Pray for the ostracized and traumatized. Pray for the oppressed and depressed. Pray for the confused and confounded. Pray for the rejected and neglected.
Just pray.