Written by: Holly Pulley, Staff Writer
MAKING HISTORY: San Jose, California is the first city in the nation to enact gun owner conditions.
Recently, San Jose, California has proposed new laws that would make it the first city in the United States to hold gun carriers accountable for their firearms. On Tuesday, January 25, San Jose’s mayor Sam Liccardo approved two mandates: holders must carry a liability insurance policy that particularly covers incidents resulting of damage to body or property from use of a firearm, and gun owners are required to donate to a non-profit organization that will send money to groups which specialize in mental health support for citizens who own firearms or know someone who owns a firearm.
The point of the new laws is to reduce gun violence, and Liccardo thinks it will work. San Jose’s mayor compared the gun insurance policy to auto-insurance, saying the money is supposed to encourage gun owners to take safer precautions when using their weapons. The point of the donation is to show gun owners how much of an impact owning the firearm has on themselves and their loved ones. Supporters are eager for the new laws to be implemented, while many gun owning citizens are enraged. San Jose resident Mark Sikes filed a lawsuit against the city of San Jose, saying the new laws are unconstitutional, and that the distribution of money from the donations is an “invitation for corruption and waste,” as he stated in his lawsuit. Another speaker during a council meeting said it was hurting gun owners that already abided by the law. The city also hasn’t discussed how much the gun insurance policy will add onto a person’s existing insurance plan, which is worrying to some gun owners.
Mass shootings influenced Liccardo’s need to take action on gun restrictions. In 2019 a shooting just forty minutes away from San Jose in Gilroy, California by a 19-year-old boy resulted in 3 deaths, which included 2 young children. Another shooting occurred at a public transit yard in Liccardo’s own city, San Jose, which killed eight workers whom the shooter was familiar with. 52% of American citizens voted that gun laws should be stricter, and while that is still the majority, it is the lowest number of supporters measured by Gallup, an analytics company, since 2014. However, there is a strong connection between states with less-stricter firearm laws and more shooting incidents. As for how the new laws will work, law enforcement that see citizens with guns will ask for evidence of insurance, like a car-stop when being pulled over. The mayor acknowledged that some will be exempt from the law, such as police officers and those who can’t afford to pay the fee.
The National Foundation for Gun Rights is planning to sue once the law is mandated, demanding that one can’t tax a constitutional right. When the idea was announced in July of 2021, they defied then, saying “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.” (Dudley Brown, president of the NFGR). With a pro bono public defender already hired, the city of San Jose is clearly ready to defend itself and what it stands for.