San Jose, California, will now legally require all gun owners to have liability insurance thanks to a measure approved by the city council Tuesday.
The city council voted Tuesday night in favor of the measure, which is believed to be the first such legislation enacted by a municipality in the U.S., according to The Associated Press. Similar proposals have previously been introduced elsewhere in the U.S.
My complete statement on tonight’s City Council vote on my Gun Harm Reduction proposals ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/l6wszaCsv0
— Sam Liccardo (@sliccardo) January 26, 2022
The ordinance requires San Jose gun owners to have liability insurance “covering losses or damages resulting from any negligent or accidental use of the Firearm, including but not limited to death, injury or property damage.” Owners of lost or stolen firearms will also be held liable until they report such losses to police, according to The AP.
Also included in the ordinance is a requirement for gun owners to pay an annual fee that will go toward firearm training and education, as well as initiatives for suicide prevention and domestic violence. The ordinance becomes effective in six months, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. (RELATED: Gun Owners To Pay Yearly Fee, Show Gun Papers On Demand To Police Officers In San Jose)
Democratic San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said in a Jan. 19 Los Angeles Times op-ed that he anticipates “a barrage of lawsuits from the firearm industry and gun rights advocates.”
“Why should any city subject itself to litigation? Because now-common horrific reports of shootings throughout the nation do little more than elicit a performative parade of prayers and platitudes from Congress,” he wrote in the op-ed. “Because problem-solving must be elevated over political posturing.”
The legislation is considered part of a larger gun control initiative Liccardo put forward after a man killed nine people in a May 2021 mass shooting at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
Critics of the measures have said they violate their Second Amendment rights, as well as do little to address crimes committed with firearms obtained illegally.
“You cannot tax a constitutional right. This does nothing to reduce crime,” one critic said at the city council meeting, according to The AP.