California city council approves measure requiring gun owners to have liability insurance

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KPIX) - One month after a mass shooting, city councilors have passed gun control measures.

In a unanimous vote, the San Jose City Council approved a measure requiring every gun owner to have liability insurance coverage for their firearms.

A second measure requires gun owners to pay an annual fee to compensate taxpayers for the public cost of responding to gun-related injuries and deaths, such as emergency medical and police response.

Gun rights advocates said the measures would punish law-abiding gun owners, and others worry it infringes on the Second Amendment.

“We believe it is clearly unconstitutional for the government at any level to charge some sort of a fee before somebody can exercise an enumerated, constitutional right,” Sam Paredes said during the council meeting in a public comment.

New data from an independent nonprofit organization showed gun violence incidents in San Jose cost taxpayers $442 million annually.

The city council’s actions took place after a mass shooting in San Jose that took the lives of nine people in May.

Some supporters of the measures said the council’s decisions are a step forward in combatting gun violence.

Those who don’t comply with the mandates could have their weapons seized.

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