Non-violence sculpture at the United Nations in New York | Photo by Didier Moise via Wikimedia Commons
Part XLVI of the “United States 2024 Elections” Series
A Facebook friend, John Everett, from Mobile, Alabama, shared a re-post of this column’s February 4, 2022 article about the need for a “Firearms Bond.” Mr. Everett posted his Intro Note to the shared article: “May God bless all those tireless activists and journalists who work hard to appeal to the government, insisting they urgently address any and all issues that are at the heart of what caused yesterday’s tragedy in Georgia. This article is from one of them, whom I am proud to call a friend. Thank you, Bobby M. Reyes, for continuing to fight the good fight. I know you won’t give up, so I won’t either.”
The fifth paragraph describes what it is all about: “After Mr. Biden became the official Democratic Party candidate for the presidency, this writer forwarded to his campaign a note about Firearms Bond (or 3rd-party Liability Insurance). We first presented the idea to former New York City Mayor Mike R. Bloomberg in January 2020. We reminded Mr. Bloomberg that the U.S. took over the Philippines (PH) as a colony of Spain (after the Spanish-American War of 1898).
Eventually, under the first civil governor, William Howard Taft, the American civil government permitted Filipinos (then American nationals) to resume owning firearms. Still, gun owners had to register with law enforcement agencies. Then, the PH Commonwealth government required gun owners to post a bond to obtain a license to possess firearms. (The gun-ownership bond was the equivalent of a mandatory third-party liability insurance policy for motor vehicles after cars became popular in the PH archipelago).” To read the article in its entirety, please click this link.
It may be easy this year to use and implement the 1930s-era “Firearms Bonds” instituted by the Commonwealth government, as set up by the United States in its then-colony, the Philippines. How?
To the limited knowledge of this columnist, a retiring President Joe Biden may have the power to issue an executive order to implement it. To ensure it is implemented nationwide, he may call for a summit of all state governors to discuss and make it part of every state’s Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) regulations. It may be even easier for state governors, especially Democrats, to issue their own executive order to implement the idea and make it part of DMV’s third-party liability (TPL) requirements for vehicles and/or the homeowner’s insurance coverage. If he can make this suggested move, then President Biden may further embellish his growing reputation as one of the most successful occupants of the Oval Office in presidential history.
“Politicians and policy and decision makers of communities must remember that often, ending or mitigating major problems — like gun-caused violence — may just require a simple solution. It will not need them first to earn a doctorate to debate and approve a simple idea like “Firearms Bonds.”
If congressional action is required, perhaps the Democratic Party can require all its slates — from the presidential ticket to all the down-the-ballot candidates, especially in U.S. congressional and senatorial races — to adopt formally the idea of a “Firearms Bond” as part of their campaign platforms. Then, on November 5, 2024, the election may serve as an unofficial referendum on this “Firearms Bond” (or as part of a TPL-insurance) proposal.
Vice President Kamala Harris can even mention the idea of a “Firearms Bond” in her coming debate on September 10th with former President Trump. She can ask her debate opponent what he thinks of it, and he may be at a loss for sensible words (again) in replying to it—as usual.
As a classic example of how the “Firearms Bond” or part of a DMV requirement of a TPL, the school shooting on May 24, 2022, at 9:28 AM PDT at Uvalde, Texas, could not have happened had the shooter been required to obtain it from the DMV or an insurance company — before he was allowed to buy the automatic rifle that he used in the massacre. Why? Because the shooter (while he had a vehicle registered in his name) did not live in a house of his own (either leased or bought on installment). Reports said he was sleeping on a sofa in his grandmother’s house. No insurance company would have issued him a TPL policy if he was required to buy a gun.
Politicians and policy and decision makers of communities must remember that often, ending or mitigating major problems — like gun-caused violence — may just require a simple solution. It will not need them first to earn a doctorate to debate and approve a simple idea like “Firearms Bonds.”
