The city's mayor, Sam Liccardo, said a new fee for gun owners would go toward supporting “evidence-based initiatives to reduce gun violence and gun harm.”

The California city of San Jose is set to become the first in the United States to enforce an ordinance requiring most gun owners to pay a fee and carry liability insurance.

In a statement on Tuesday night, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said the city's council had voted in favor of both measures, which are aimed at reducing the risk of gun harm and relieving taxpayers of the financial cost of gun violence.

The council overwhelmingly approved the measures despite opposition from gun owners who said it would violate their Second Amendment rights and promised to sue. The ordinance still needs approval at a final reading next month before it can take effect in the Silicon Valley city in August.