After Gilroy shooting, San Jose mayor pushes new gun liability insurance requirement
The mayor will propose requiring gun owners in the city to either carry liability insurance or pay a fee to "compensate taxpayers for the public costs of firearm violence in America's 10th largest city," according to a news release published Monday morning.
"While this is far from a complete solution, it is something we can do to reduce the harms of firearms, without waiting for
Liccardo likened the proposal to past strategies to lower smoking rates and car crashes.
"We require motorists to carry automobile insurance, and the insurance industry appropriately encourages and rewards safe driver behavior," Liccardo said. "We tax tobacco consumption both to discourage risky behavior and to make sure non-smokers are not forced to subsidize the substantial public health costs generated by smoking-related illnesses and deaths."
The mayor hopes other cities will consider the proposal, a first of its kind in the nation, in the future.
Liccardo is also calling for a gun and ammunition sales tax to fund gun safety classes, gun violence prevention programs and victim assistance services, as well as a cash rewards program for anyone who reports a person who has unlawfully obtained guns or weapons. He also wants the city to explore a program that would allow parents to consent to having local law enforcement search their children or their property.
"With this measure, we won't suddenly end gun violence," Liccardo said. "But we're going to stop paying for it."
Liccardo acknowledged that any fee system would have to be private, protected through blockchain technology or other measures to avoid violating a state law that prevents local governments from creating gun registries.
Sworn employees of law enforcement agencies would be exempt from the insurance requirement, which would cover everything from accidental discharge to the actions of other third parties who steal or borrow a person's gun. It would not cover intentional conduct by the policyholder.
For people who can't or don't get insurance, the fee option would help cover emergency services and medical costs, among other things.
Liccardo wants city staff to consider polling for a measure to tax all ammunition and firearm purchases in the city, and to talk to surrounding cities and
It's unclear exactly when such proposals might become law. But the idea has at least some support at the state level.
"Since Trump and his Republican allies have abdicated their responsibility to address our country's gun violence crisis, cities and states must lead," Assemblyman
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