LOST AMONG THE CLUTTER

San Jose File # 22-138

by Bob Walsh

The city of San Jose, CA.  did in fact enact their first in the country mandatory Gun Insurance law.  If it is not held up by court action (IMHO a near certainty) it will take effect in August of this year.

The law requires that gun owners pay an annual fee to the city in order to own a gun (kind of like a poll tax for the Second Amendment I guess) and carry a liability insurance policy covering firearms-related "death, injury or property damage."  This policy must specify that it covers damages from the "accidental use" of firearms.  The city will provide a form which must be filled out, stored with the firearm(s) and presented on demand (without any probable cause) by law enforcement officers.  

Failure to comply will result in the firearm being impounded.

It is estimated that about 55,000 households in San Jose have guns in the home.  There are about 325,000 homes and slightly over 1 million residents in San Jose.  

The state insurance department has said that they are unaware of any insurance authorized to be sold in CA that is firearms specific.

The original text of the law required that the annual fee payment be directed to a third party not-for-profit, which does not yet exist, which would use it for reducing gun violence in the city.  I have not yet found out if that remained in the final text.

It is my understanding that at least two Second Amendment organizations have already filed for TROs against the law being implemented.