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https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/loca...wners/2787900/

San Jose gun owners could be required to purchase liability insurance and pay an annual fee on their weapons under an ordinance the city council is expected to approve this week.

The proposed ordinance would require gun owners to pay an annual fee of roughly $25 as well as administrative costs to the city. Gun owners would also be required to maintain liability insurance in the event their gun is used for violence or a crime.

Mayor Sam Liccardo, who introduced the two proposals last June after a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority employee killed nine of his co-workers and himself, likened the insurance requirement to motorists having car insurance.

A study published in November by the Pacific Institute on Research and Evaluation found that San Jose taxpayers pay an average of $151 per year for each household that owns a gun, supporting gun violence response by law enforcement and medical personnel, shooting investigations, court processing and other services that are publicly funded.

When combined with the private costs to residents as a result of gun violence and crime, the study found that San Jose residents collectively spend an average of $442 million per year due to gun violence.

Between 50,000 and 55,000 San Jose households own at least one gun, according to the study. The ordinance's fee would be charged per household and not per gun, Liccardo said.

"Certainly the Second Amendment protects every citizen's right to own a gun," Liccardo said. "It does not require taxpayers to subsidize that right."

The funding generated from the proposal's fees would support the work of a nonprofit that will seek to reduce domestic and gun violence.