A lawsuit challenging San Jose’s new law requiring gun owners to carry liability insurance has suffered a major blow after a federal judge dismissed nearly all the claims by pro-gun groups.
The new law, which was passed by the city council in January 2022, faced immediate lawsuits by the Colorado-based National Association for Gun Rights and the state’s Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, which argued it was unconstitutional, burdensome and that San Jose hadn’t proven it would reduce gun violence. The city is the first in the entire country to impose such rules on gun owners.
In the ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman said the city “had demonstrated that the Insurance Requirement is consistent with the Nation’s historical traditions.” She will allow the plaintiffs to file an amended complaint regarding the city’s provision requiring a yearly fee paid by gun owners toward a nonprofit that combats gun violence.
“The Court’s order is a victory for San Jose today, and for many other communities in the future,” wrote former Mayor Sam Liccardo, who helped pass the insurance law, in a statement. “The gun lobby’s grip over Congress and many state houses leaves it to local leaders to offer our families something more than ‘hopes and prayers.’ While we will need many innovative solutions to reduce the relentless human toll of gun violence in our communities, San Jose’s implementation of this ordinance will enable investments in mental health, domestic violence and suicide prevention, and other evidence-based measures to reduce firearm deaths and injuries.”
In a statement, the National Association for Gun Rights wrote, “This ruling is what happens when judges rely more on anti-gun groups like Brady than the actual ruling authorities here – namely the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. Supreme Court…No one would argue that having to pay $25 a year to petition your government or speak your mind wouldn’t violate those rights – and yet that is exactly what this court has claimed when it comes to the right to keep and bear arms. This is a truly astounding example of bad-faith judicial acrobatics.”
The city and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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