Many gun owners in San Jose are outraged over the city's new firearm legislation that would require them to pay an annual fee and have liability insurance.
Employees at Gun Exchange off Almaden Expressway called the ordinance approved by the San Jose City Council on Tuesday night "unconstitutional," arguing it is an infringement upon their Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Starting in August, city residents shopping from the store’s rows of rifles would need insurance covering losses or damages resulting from "any negligent or accidental use" of the firearm. Gun owners in the city would also have to pay an annual fee, ranging from $25-$35, which the city will send to a nonprofit to support programs aimed at reducing gun violence.
Stan Yeager, a longtime employee at Gun Exchange, said he's worried the fees and liability insurance would be prohibitively expensive for gun protectors. He argued that criminals and gang members won't register their guns, either.
"I've never committed any crimes, or anything like that," Yeager said. "So why punish me?"
The National Foundation for Gun Rights, legal arm of the National Association for Gun Rights, filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday in San Jose. City officials argued the new gun rules will encourage safer gun ownership and reduce the cost of gun violence to the public, while the annual fees will fund a nonprofit to support suicide prevention programs, mental health services and firearm safety training.
Yeager called the ordinance "just another nail being put in the coffin” of his Second Amendment rights.
"You're going to have an illegal government that is going to be taken into court and sued a multitude of times because you’re violating the Second Amendment, as far as I'm concerned," Yeager said.
Some of Yeager’s customers have already decided to pack up their weapons and move out of the city, he said. Yeager said some have even moved out of the state.
"They're kissing California goodbye," he said. "They're going someplace else."
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