San Jose Votes To Enact , First-in-Nation , Gun Ownership Requirements.
San Jose Votes To Enact , First-in-Nation , Gun Ownership Requirements.
On Jan. 25, the San Jose, California, city council voted to adopt an ordinance that would require the majority of gun owners to
pay an annual $25 fee and have liability insurance.
It's the first time such an ordinance would be implemented in the United States.
The measure is intended to promote safer behavior and lessen the financial burden of
gun violence taxpayers endure.
Mayor Sam Liccardo estimates that the city's residents incur nearly $442 million in gun-related expenses per year.
Certainly, the Second
Amendment protects
every citizen's right
to own a gun. It does
not require taxpayers
to subsidize that right, Sam Liccardo, San Jose Mayor,
via news conference.
The $25 fee would go to a nonprofit tasked with distributing the money to gun crime prevention and gun violence victims.
The ordinance's final reading will
take place next month, where it must be
approved to take effect in August.
Gun rights activists have already threatened lawsuits if the measures become law.
CNN reports that a 2021 Gallup poll found that only 52% of Americans think "laws covering the sales of firearms" should be more strict