Lawmaker pushing bill to study insurance for gun owners

By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Gun rights advocates in Illinois are raising alarms over House Bill 43, legislation that would create a state task force to study mandatory civil liability insurance for firearm owners.

Critics say the bill could lead to new burdens for law-abiding gun owners.

Aaron Dorr, executive director of the Illinois Firearms Association, described the measure as “another major attack on our gun rights.”

“[Gov. J.B.] Pritzker’s main goal, I think we all know this now, is to disarm every single one of us here in Illinois,” Dorr said in a recent social media video.

He dismissed the notion that the legislation is aimed at reducing crime.

“If Pritzker wanted to reduce crime, he’d have our prosecutors actually put criminals in prison. He would roll back the bail reform… and he’d roll back the gun control bills that have disarmed so many of us. This has nothing to do with stopping violent crime.”

HB0043 would create a Task Force on Firearm Insurance to study current and future policies and make recommendations, with members appointed by the governor and legislative leaders and administrative support from the Department of Insurance.

Sponsor of the bill, state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, announced the introduction of the legislation on social media saying, “As we progress through the 104th GA, I remain committed to pursuing legislation that combats gun violence in our state.”

Morgan, longtime advocate of gun control measures, said the proposal is intended to examine the broader impacts of gun violence and whether insurance could play a role in accountability, not to impose an immediate mandate.

Morgan framed the idea as a fact-finding effort rather than new regulation, saying, “The massive financial cost of gun violence is indisputable – for the victims themselves and those exposed to the trauma of gun violence. We have never addressed the question of how insurance for gun ownership could be structured, and whether insurance has an appropriate role in encouraging responsible gun ownership.”

Dorr warned the task force could impose new mandates on FOID card holders.

“You want a FOID card? Show us your million dollars in civil liability insurance. There’s no civil liability insurance for murderers, robbers, foreign invaders who are flocking through our cities. No, no, no. This only applies to us, just the good guys who jumped through all these hoops to get a gun in Illinois.”

Morgan defended the proposal against critics, saying it originated from gun owners themselves, “Law-abiding gun owners initially came up with this concept, so those raising concerns about a simple task force are probably more interested in instilling fear in law-abiding gun owners than they are in reducing gun violence in our state.”

Dorr expressed skepticism about the task force’s composition.

“One member from the General Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the House… It probably won’t be a pro-gun guy like [state Rep.] Chris Miller, R-Oakland. We all know it’s going to be a radical commie. Two representatives of the Illinois commercial insurance industry appointed by his eminence, J.B. Pritzker, and finally two experts in the cause of firearms injuries and death appointed by Pritzker.”

HB0043 is currently under consideration in Springfield, with the task force required to submit a report to the governor and General Assembly by Dec. 31, and dissolve on January 1.

“A task force is most appropriate since no state has yet established firearm insurance product lines, and the wide-ranging bipartisan representation of the proposed task force will help result in productive findings,” Morgan told TCS.

No U.S. state has a fully implemented, statewide law requiring all gun owners to carry liability insurance. However, some local and state rules exist: San Jose, California, and New Jersey mandate insurance for certain gun owners, Colorado has proposed legislation, and several other states, including New York, are considering similar bills, often facing legal challenges.