San Jose Approves Nation’s 1st Necessary Gun Liabililty Insurance coverage, Annual Charges – CBS San Francisco

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – In a unanimous vote Tuesday evening, San Jose City Council approved the first gun control measure of its kind.

The first would require that every gun owner have liability insurance for their firearms. The insurance could not legally cover intentional damage caused by a gun owner.

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The second requires gun owners to pay an annual fee to reimburse taxpayers for public costs of responding to gun-related injuries and deaths, including police and medical services.

San Jose is the first city in the country to adopt such measures. The new laws are part of a gun control plan proposed by Mayor Sam Liccardo earlier this month after the mass shooting of a disgruntled Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) employee at a light rail station in San Jose.

“It is also the case that the Second Amendment, while securing the right to own a weapon, does not require that we as taxpayers subsidize the possession of these weapons,” Liccardo said during the virtual meeting.

According to Liccardo, gun liability insurance is comparable to car insurance in that it encourages responsible ownership, storage and use of guns. He said the fees would be modest – possibly between $ 25 and $ 30.

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“We know crooks won’t buy insurance. Of course not, ”said Liccardo. “So when a police officer answers a domestic violence call and asks the question every officer asks, ‘Are there guns in the house?’ at this point the officer can determine whether this person has followed the law to take out insurance. “

Gun lawyers said the measures will punish law-abiding gun owners and will challenge the city’s decision in court. They doubt that they have much influence on gun violence and are likely to come into conflict with the second amendment.

“We believe it is clearly unconstitutional for the government at any level to charge some kind of fee before someone can exercise an enumerated constitutional right,” said Sam Paredes of Gun Owners of California.

Two weeks ago, the city council passed law requiring retailers to videotape all gun purchases, making it the largest city in California with such a rule.

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Betty Yu contributed to this report.