San Jose, CA Becomes the First to Pass Gun Ownership Requirements

On January 25, 2022, there was a city council meeting held in regards to whether or not to pass a gun law requiring gun owners to have liability insurance and to pay a fee of $25. The mayor of San Jose, Sam Liccardo, released a statement after the meeting was held saying that both the bills were passed with an overwhelming majority. He released a statement saying, “Thank you to my council colleagues who continue to show their commitment to reducing gun violence and its devastation in our community.” The bills themselves are meant to hopefully reduce the amount of gun violence happening and to help taxpayers by lightening the financial burden of gun violence. The bills still need to get final approval but if everything stays on track the bills are meant to take effect in August.

The money that gets collected from the gun owners will be put towards initiatives to alleviate gun violence and harm. A rough estimate of how much money will be collected because of these bills is $25 million. The mayor of San Jose initiated both of these bills back in June of last year, almost two weeks after, one gunman shot 9 people working a light rail yard.

These bills are significant because many bills similar to these have been proposed but never have been put into action. The liability insurance, according to Mayor Liccardo, is meant to, “have gun safes, install trigger locks and take gun safety classes.” It would also cover losses and damages from any accidental use of the firearm. So with these being the incentives to get the insurance, it’s important to note that people won’t face any criminal repercussions if they don’t have insurance.

With these bills being passed over such a controversial topic, of course, the public has very split thoughts on the new laws. Some people claim that this is going against the constitution and people’s “rights.” Others argue that it’s an amazing thing to take steps forward in preventing gun violence.

This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group Blog. If you are in need of legal help, the CIMA Law Group is a law firm in Phoenix, Arizona which possesses expertise in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.