With more than 385 mass shootings in 2024 alone, it’s clear that gun violence is a major problem in the United States. As American politicians continue to struggle to find a collective solution, one woman on TikTok proposed a plan to combat it — and over 12 million people are in on it.
Ryann Parrish (@ryannpdatsme), a 28-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee, recently posted a now-viral TikTok video explaining her solution to gun violence. The video has been viewed nearly 13 million times, received nearly 3 million likes, and has over 55,000 comments.
TikTok: @ryannpdatsme / Via tiktok.com
“Call me radical, but I think the guns should start to have insurance policies,” Ryann says in the TikTok. “If I gotta insure my Honda Civic, you need to insure your gun.”
The TikToker continued by saying that if other things considered valuable in life are insured — such as your health, car, house, and more — then guns should be, too. “If your guns are valuable to you, it shouldn’t be a problem to insure them,” she explained.
Ryann then imagined a world where guns couldn’t be bought or taken anywhere without proof of insurance. “If somebody does something stupid with their gun, then guess who’s gotta pay for it? The insurance company,” she said in the video. “That’s gonna regulate some shit real fast.”
Continuing to depict what a gun-insured America would look like, Ryann said that if the police caught someone with an uninsured gun, they’d be allowed to take it. “You gotta go to court, get insurance on it, or prove you have insurance on it, then get your gun back — because you’re a responsible gun owner.”
“If you’re at my house and you fall off my roof, that’s on my home insurance policy, right?” the 28-year-old continued. “If you’re playing with my gun and you shoot somebody, that’s on my gun insurance policy, right?” With that logic, Ryann believes gun owners would be more wary of who they allow to use or access their guns.
After admitting that she doesn’t say it often, Ryann concludes that she thinks insurance companies have to get involved and are “our last hope at savior.”
Though the Tennessee native says that some people might see her solution to gun violence as “radical,” many TikTok users took to the comments to agree with her. One gun owner said, “As an owner of one, I approve. It’s the responsible and reasonable solution. And you’re right, the insurance companies will lobby for legislation when it impacts their bottom line.”
Meanwhile, others pointed out some of the flaws of Ryann’s solution. One TikTok user said, “Only problem with this for me is the people who can afford the insurance vs those who can’t make it so that it’s just another thing only *certain* people would have the ability to legally own.”
Additionally, people from other countries came to the comments to explain their gun laws. One user commented, “Wait yall don’t have that? In Germany you can have rifles with an active hunting license. But for that you have to show ur prove of insurance every 3 years.”
Though Ryann isn’t a gun owner, as a registered nurse, she’s no stranger to the effects of gun violence and says that guns are unique in their lethality. “Oftentimes in the ER, we see patients with gunshot wounds resulting from domestic disputes, gang violence, accidental discharges, or even self-inflicted,” she told BuzzFeed. “This really opened my eyes to the dangers of guns and the finality of their damage. It’s hard not to view guns differently after seeing how much damage they can cause.”
The TikToker recalled first hearing about the notion of insuring guns years ago and how it’s stayed with her since. “‘American problems require American solutions,’ and when insurance companies are some of the largest lobbying organizations in Washington, why not use them to help combat a problem we already have?” Ryann said to BuzzFeed. “If we can help a business sector make money off of keeping Americans safe, we may be able to actually move forward with gun control initiatives.”
If insurance companies did become involved with guns, Ryann believes it would result in insurance companies creating policies that would essentially make obtaining a gun harder, providing some guardrails in a largely unregulated market. She concluded: “I think ultimately, in order to solve this problem, we are going to have to appeal to both sides and compromise.”
Whether you’re a gun owner or not, what do you think about Ryann’s solution? If you don’t live in the United States, what do your gun laws look like? Let us know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit using this form.
For more content, follow Ryann on TikTok and Instagram.
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