Mercurynews.com Mon, Jun. 12, 2006

Judge overturns San Francisco weapons ban
DAVID KRAVETS
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO - A state trial judge sided Monday with the National
Rifle Association in overturning a voter-approved city ordinance that
banned handgun possession and firearm sales in San Francisco.

Measure H was placed on the November ballot by the San Francisco
County Board of Supervisors, who were frustrated by an alarmingly
high number of gun-related homicides in the city of 750,000. The NRA
sued a day after 58 percent of voters approved the law.

In siding with the gun owners, San Francisco County Superior Court
Judge James Warren said a local government cannot ban weapons because
the California Legislature allows their sale and possession.

"My clients are thrilled that the court recognized that law-abiding
firearms owners who choose to own a gun to defend themselves or their
families are part of the solution and not part of the problem," NRA
attorney Chuck Michel said. "Hopefully, the city will recognize that
gun owners can contribute to the effort to fight the criminal misuse
of firearms, a goal that we all share."

The ordinance targeted only city residents, meaning nonresidents in
the city or even tourists were not banned from possessing or selling
guns here.

Warren's decision was not unexpected. In 1982, a California appeals
court nullified an almost identical San Francisco gun ban largely on
grounds that the city cannot enact an ordinance that conflicts with
state law.

But years later, in 1998, a state appeals court upheld West
Hollywood's ban on the sale of so-called Saturday night specials,
small and cheap handguns that city leaders said contributed to
violent crime. And three years ago, the California Supreme Court
ruled in favor of Los Angeles and Alameda counties, saying local
governments could ban the possession and sale of weapons on
government property, such as fairgrounds.

That decision, however, did not address the issue of private property
sales and possession, as outlined in the San Francisco law.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit also
is considering a challenge to a similar handgun ban in the District
of Columbia that alleges the law violates a Second Amendment right of
individuals to bear arms.

The NRA lawsuit here avoided those allegations.

Matt Dorsey, a spokesman for City Attorney Dennis Herrera, whose
office unsuccessfully defended the law before Warren, said the city
was mulling whether it was going to appeal.

"We're disappointed that the court has denied the right of voters to
enact a reasonable, narrowly tailored restriction on handgun
possession," Dorsey said. "San Francisco voters spoke loud and clear
on the issue of gun violence."