R.J. Lehmann on San Jose’s Firearms Insurance Law

San Jose Inside – ICLE Editor-in-Chief R.J. Lehmann was quoted by San Jose Inside in a story about a new law in San Jose, California, requiring firearms owners to purchase liability insurance. You can read full piece here.

A month ago, National Public Radio’s “On Point,” hosted by Meghna Chakrabarti with WBUR, Boston, dealt specifically with that question. Liccardo was one of three guest panelists, along with journalist Jennifer Mascia and R.J. Lehmann, senior fellow at the International Center for Law and Economics.

“Insurance in and of itself is never going to cover the kinds of violent events that people imagine it would, because insurance can’t cover things that you do on purpose,” said Lehmann.

The San Jose ordinance, according to Lehmann, ”would not cover the overwhelming majority of firearms incidents that tend to be the subject of public concern.”

“The paradigmatic example of a tragic firearms accident—a child gets hold of an unsecured firearm and injures his or her sibling—would not be covered,” he said. “More importantly, coverage would not extend to intentional acts.”