Gun owners in Sacramento would pay ‘harm reduction fee’ under city proposal

Registered gun owners in Sacramento would be required to pay a “harm reduction fee” and face other restrictions under a set of proposals that moved forward on Tuesday during a City Council committee meeting. 

Supporters say the measures, which surfaced after a recent spike in shootings, would reduce gun violence. But a gun rights lobbyist said they would financially burden residents who follow existing laws and won’t prevent people from illegally obtaining firearms for criminal activity. 

Council member Lisa Kaplan and Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced the package last week. The proposals include banning minors from entering gun stores and prohibiting the sale of firearms at home-based businesses. The city is also exploring requiring gun owners to pay harm reduction fees plus maintain liability insurance covering accidents. 

The city’s law and legislation committee on Tuesday fast-tracked the proposals by instructing staff to bring them to the full council for consideration. Committee members could have asked staff to bring the proposals back to them for review first, but family members of people killed in the 2022 mass shooting on K Street asked the city to move quickly. 

Council member Eric Guerra, who previously called for local gun storage laws, supported the proposals. 

“Responsible firearm ownership is essential and that includes recognizing that they are a liability, as well,” Guerra said during the meeting. “Just like your car is a tool for transportation, it can also be a very dangerous item.”

The city of San Jose passed a similar gun insurance and harm reduction fee policy two years ago. A federal court dismissed lawsuits from the National Association for Gun Rights and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association that argued the policy violated the Second Amendment. But the court ruled they could sue again when the city begins charging harm reduction fees. 

Dan Reid runs the National Rifle Association’s state and local lobbying efforts and is based in Sacramento. He said if Sacramento passes an insurance requirement for gun owners, it won’t  prevent gun violence. 

“People that are engaging in violent activities are never gonna have this insurance,” Reid said in an interview. “And even if they did have this type of insurance, it would never cover that type of activity, right? It’s gonna be outside the mark.”

Reid added that charging people an annual $25 harm reduction fee for each gun they own can quickly add up for hunters, recreational shooters and collectors. 

“They’re going to be tasked with this annual punitive tax, essentially, for exercising a constitutional right,” Reid said.

Cities across California have proposed a variety of local gun restrictions, including bans on gun shows and requiring city contractors to disclose whether they were affiliated with the NRA, Reid said. Kaplan and Steinberg announced this latest proposal about two weeks after multiple shootings took place across the city, leaving five people dead. 

Deborah Grimes, whose son Greg Najee Grimes was killed in a shooting on the Fourth of July two years ago, told the committee she believes the proposals will save lives. She said she has met many other families who have lost loved ones in shootings. 

“The throughline is that all of these murders are senseless gun violence,” Grimes said during the meeting.

The full council plans to review the proposal in a future meeting.