XCR1250 Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 The San Jose, California, city council voted Tuesday night to adopt a first-in-the-nation ordinance requiring most gun owners to pay a fee and carry liability insurance, measures aimed at reducing the risk of gun harm by incentivizing safer behavior and easing taxpayers of the financial burden of gun violence. The Silicon Valley city's council split the vote into two parts: the first approving the bulk of the proposal, including the insurance provisions, and the second approving the fee provisions. The insurance vote passed 10-1, while the fees vote passed 8-3. The ordinance must be approved next month at its final reading in order to take effect in August. Gun rights supporters have threatened to sue to block the measures if they become law. Ahead of the vote, Democratic Mayor Sam Liccardo estimated that San Jose residents incur about $442 million in gun-related costs each year. "Certainly the Second Amendment protects every citizen's right to own a gun. It does not require taxpayers to subsidize that right," Liccardo said Monday at a news conference. San Jose mayor proposes gun owners carry insurance and pay annual fee in wake of mass shooting Mass shootings impelled Liccardo to push the fee and insurance initiatives -- first after the 2019 slayings at a festival in nearby Gilroy, California, then following last year's deadly siege at public transit facility in his city. The mayor has compared the plan to car insurance mandates, which he credits with dramatically reducing traffic fatalities. San Jose's city council after the June mass shooting unanimously approved drafting the ordinance, mayoral spokesperson Rachel Davis said Monday in a news release. Just 52% of Americans polled in late 2021 said "laws covering the sales of firearms" should be stricter, the lowest number Gallup has measured on the question since 2014. Meanwhile, there is a direct correlation in states with weaker gun laws and higher rates of gun deaths, including homicides, suicides and accidental killings, a study released Thursday by Everytown for Gun Safety found. Tuesday's vote followed hours of debate and public comment on the issue. Critics argued the ordinance punishes law-abiding gun owners and doesn't do enough to address root causes of gun violence. One speaker told the council during the public comment session, "You cannot tax a Constitutional right" and urged lawmakers to instead focus on enforcing existing laws, hiring more police officers and funding mental health services. A supporter told the council the ordinance will "help protect our community from preventable gun deaths," while another urged members to approve the measure, saying, "In the near future, it will be very evident that this was an obvious thing to do, and we'll wonder why we didn't do it sooner." A guns rights group has threatened to sue Under San Jose's measure, gun owners would be charged an annual $25 fee directed to a nonprofit set up to distribute funds to gun crime prevention and to victims of gun violence. The measure also would require gun owners to obtain liability insurance that would cover damage caused by their weapon. People who fail to comply are subject to fines and could have firearms impounded "subject to a due process hearing," the ordinance says. Lower premiums for those with gun safes, trigger locks and completed gun safety classes are expected to incentivize safer behavior. As to enforcement, police officers crossing paths with gun owners would ask for proof of insurance, much like they do with car insurance during traffic stops, Liccardo explained. While some would be exempt, including those in law enforcement, those with concealed-carry permits, and those for whom the fee would be a financial burden, pushback is expected, the mayor acknowledged. "We've opposed this ordinance every step of the way and we will see this through to the end," Dudley Brown, president of the National Association for Gun Rights and executive director of the National Foundation for Gun Rights, told CNN in a statement before the vote. A California mayor wants to require all gun owners to have liability insurance "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," Brown said. The National Foundation for Gun Rights in July sent a cease-and-desist letter to Liccardo and the council's 10 members stating it intends to file suit as soon as the ordinance is passed. The group was reacting to a June 29 council action in which "you voted unanimously to have the City Attorney research and draft an ordinance that would impose a mandatory fee on gun owners and require them to buy gun liability insurance," the letter states. San Jose has identified a law firm that would represent the city on the issue at no charge, the mayor's spokesperson said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 More mass exodus coming 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spin_dry Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 Good to get some blue into that miserable red state Texas. Austin is shaping up nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold Member EvilBird Posted January 26, 2022 Gold Member Share Posted January 26, 2022 2 minutes ago, spin_dry said: Good to get some blue into that miserable red state Texas. Austin is shaping up nicely. Lmao ...yeah OK. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member Highmark Posted January 26, 2022 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted January 26, 2022 Likely unconstitutional. It would be like charging for speech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Danger Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 3 hours ago, spin_dry said: Good to get some blue into that miserable red state Texas. Austin is shaping up nicely. Texas and California Democrats are really different animals. Not a great plan politically to run on a gun control platform in Texas no matter what party you belong to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecat Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 Just give Texas to Mexico and get it over with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepybrew Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 1 hour ago, Mainecat said: Just give Texas to Mexico and get it over with. may as well give nh and maine to canada while your at it. you will fit right in 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomxz600 Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 2 hours ago, Mainecat said: Just give Texas to Mexico and get it over with. Just give the Mexicans in Texas back to Mexico 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spin_dry Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 1 hour ago, Doomxz600 said: Just give the Mexicans in Texas back to Mexico For sure. They're going to take all of the 11 million open jobs in America.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecat Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 And Florida too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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