San Jose Could Set A Precedent By Requiring Gun Insurance

By Jana Kadah, San Jose Spotlight

January 24, 2022

San Jose may become the first city in the nation to mandate an annual gun owner fee and liability insurance in an effort to curb gun violence.

The City Council will take a vote on Tuesday and if passed, San Jose residents who own guns will have to pay a $25 fee per household and purchase gun insurance that specifically covers losses or damages resulting from “any negligent or accidental use of the firearm” in six months, according to the ordinance.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who introduced this legislation in 2019 after the mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, said the goal is to mitigate harm inflicted by gun violence and shift the financial burden of gun education and victim services to gun owners instead of taxpayers.

“We cannot wait for Congress to act to protect our residents,” Liccardo said at a Monday news conference. “More than 200 San Joseans every single year suffered death or serious injury as a result of firearms, and we must do whatever we can within our power to prevent another family from experiencing yet another devastating loss.”

Liccardo said gun insurance would work the same way as auto insurance and could adjust premiums to encourage gun owners to purchase gun safes, install trigger locks and take safety classes to potentially lower gun violence in the community.

In the last 50 years, per mile fatalities in this country through auto collisions reduced by more than 80%, Liccardo said, crediting auto insurance, so he argues the city could see similar figures with gun incidents.

Controversial legislation

The annual gun owner fee would go to a nonprofit in the process of being created by Esther Peralez-Dieckmann, executive director of NextDoor Solutions to Domestic Violence. Gun safety experts and health care leaders would sit on the nonprofit’s board.

It would not directly reduce city costs incurred by responding to gun-related incidents, which is about $8 million a year, according to city estimates. Rather it would fund “evidence-based solutions,” to prevent gun violence and mitigate the after effects by providing more comprehensive support to victims and loved ones, Deickmann told San José Spotlight. Additional programs could include suicide prevention, mental health and addiction services and firearm safety training or victim compensation.

With roughly 50,000-55,000 San Jose households with guns, the annual fee would bring in about $1.3 million per year.

It’s a move contested by many gun rights activists and owners—some of which have threatened litigation. Representatives for the Firearms Policy Coalition and Gun Owners of California were not immediately available for comment.

Dudley Brown, president of the National Association for Gun Rights, sent a cease-and-desist letter in July of last year after the legislation was re-introduced following the mass shooting at the VTA light rail yard.

Dozens of residents have also sent letters to the City Council arguing that taxing a constitutional right to own a gun would be unconstitutional and unfair.

“You are effectively punishing San Jose residents who are the good guys while diverting your attention from criminals,” resident Bruce Glover wrote in a letter. “It makes no sense to burden law abiding citizens who have passed background checks and who have lawful guns.”

Liccardo expects legal backlash, but said he has the support of the city attorney, national organizations such as Everytown for Gun Safety, and Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP who will provide pro bono legal services to defend the ordinance.

The ordinance so far has garnered support from Vice Mayor Chappie Jones and Councilmembers Raul Peralez, David Cohen and Magdalena Carrasco.

Councilmember Dev Davis, however, is in opposition.

“We should not be punishing legal gun owners because they are the easiest target to regulate,” Davis wrote in a memo. “We should be pursuing prosecution and jail time for anyone in possession of ghost guns that circumvent regulation.”

She instead suggested the city reinvigorate the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force, reconvene the multiple agencies and programs aimed at reducing gang violence and illegal guns and seek out state and federal funding to create educational gun safety programs.

The discussion and vote will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The agenda and how to access the meeting can be found here.

Contact Jana Kadah at jana@sanjosespotlight.com or @Jana_Kadah on Twitter.

This story will be updated.

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