In an effort to reduce harm from gun violence, San Jose, California looks to implement a policy requiring gun owners to pay a fee and carry insurance in order to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
On January 25th, the San Jose City Council voted with an overwhelming majority to enact Mayor Sam Liccardo’s proposals requiring all San Jose gun owners to pay an annual fee to the city and carry liability insurance that covers gun related death, injury, or property damage.
Gun owners are also required to keep proof of said insurance wherever guns are stored or transported.
“Certainly, the Second Amendment protects every citizen’s right to own a gun. It does not require taxpayers to subsidize that right”, Mayor Liccardo said in a press conference in advance of the vote.
Mayor Liccardo points to recent mass shootings in Northern California as motivation and cites auto insurance as a cause in reduction of traffic fatalities.
Many Second Amendment advocates vociferously oppose the mandates. “We’ve opposed this ordinance every step of the way and we will see this through to the end,” Dudley Brown, president of the National Association for Gun Rights and executive director of the National Foundation for Gun Rights tells CNN before the vote.
“If the San Jose City Council actually votes to impose this ridiculous tax on the Constitutional right to gun ownership, our message is clear and simple: see you in court.”
Gun owners who fail to comply will face fines and possible confiscation “subject to a due process hearing” according to the text of the ordinance.
The ordinance still must pass one more vote by the city council before it can take effect. Should it pass, and barring any legal injunctions, the ordinance could be in effect as early as August.
