The city council in San Jose, California, voted Tuesday to adopt new requirements for most gun owners — the first city in the country to do so.
The new requirements: San Jose’s city council will now require gun owners to pay a fee and have liability insurance, CNN reports.
- Gun owners will need to have homeowner’s, renter’s or gun liability insurance that covers losses or damages, in case there are any accidental or negligent use of the firearms, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
- Residents interested in owning a gun will have to pay $25 to $35 annually to a nonprofit organization that will manage the funds.
- The nonprofit is expected to provide services that “might include suicide prevention programs, domestic violence services, mental health and addiction services and firearm safety training,” per San Jose Mercury News.
Details: The measures are meant to reduce the risk of gun violence and create safer gun habits among gun owners.
- The city council first voted to approve the majority of the proposal, which includes the insurance requirements.
- The second vote approved the fees.
Quote: “Anyone hoping that Congress will act to better protect Americans from the scourge of gun violence will be waiting a very long time,” San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo told the San Jose Mercury News. “It’s incumbent on local communities to deploy new approaches to tackle this problem because it’s not getting solved by the current approach.”
What’s next: Next month, the ordinance has to be approved at a final reading. The goal is to implement the rules beginning in August 2022.
Yes, but: Per CNN, gun rights supporters are moving to sue the city in order to block the rules if it becomes law.
- For example, the Firearm Policy Coalition said it plans to fight the new law, saying it is “burdensome, unconstitutional, and prohibited by California law,” according to The Associated Press.