San Fran. gun ban tossed!

[Rick Lee]

I still couldn't live in Kalifornia, but this is a step in the right direction. Now, when will they throw Gavin Newsome in jail?

San Francisco Gun Ban Ruled Null and Void

NRA Wins Big in California State Court of Appeals

Fairfax, VA - The California State Court of Appeals announced today their decision to overturn one of the most restrictive gun bans in the country, following a legal battle by attorneys for the National Rifle Association (NRA) and a previous court order against the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

"Today's decision by the California State Court of Appeals is a big win for the law-abiding citizens and NRA Members of San Francisco," declared Chris W. Cox, NRA's chief lobbyist.

In 2005, NRA sought an injunction against the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to prevent them from enacting one of the nation's most restrictive gun bans. NRA won the injunction, but the City's mayor and Board of Supervisors ignored the court order and approved a set of penalties, including a $1,000 fine and a jail term of between 90 days and six months, for city residents who own firearms for lawful purposes in their own homes.

"We promised our California NRA members in 2005 that we would fight any gun ban instituted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and we haven't given up that fight," continued Cox. "Today we see our second win for the Second Amendment against the San Francisco gun ban. We beat them once in court and the City's attorney appealed based on his personal disagreement with the court's first decision to overturn the ban. Now we've beaten them again. The California State Court of Appeals has upheld the state preemption law."

Today's decision came in the form of a 3-0 opinion in favor of the lower court ruling overturning the gun ban.

"This decision is a thoughtful and well-reasoned legal opinion," concluded Cox. "I'd like to thank our approximately 4 million members, including the hundreds of thousands of members in California, for their continued commitment to protecting our cherished freedoms."

[legion]

Whew-hew!

When are they doing Chicago?

[Rick Lee]

I think technically Chicago still allows handguns. Their cops just don't approve any applications, correct? That would have been the way for SF to go. An outright ban is begging for a lawsuit. Just ignoring or denying every application is a more subtle, but no less wrong, approach.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Now if they could just get the rest of the B.S. anti-gun laws off the books, we'd be in good shape.

[legion]

IIRC, the ban in Chicago is the result of the combination of two things:

All hand guns in the city must be registered.

Registration, by executive order of the mayor at the time, Jane Byrne, of new handguns was closed in 1981.

So yes, if you have a registered handgun before 1981, or you are a cop, or a retired cop, or (and I'm not sure how this works) you are a private security guard, you can own a handgun. But no one else can. It has all but eliminated shootings in the city.

[stevepaa]

You forgot to mention that it was a proposition passed by the voters.

Just goes to show what a little fear mongering can do to the electorate.

[vash]

damn! i was going to get a free SIG out of it. my SF buddy was going to give it to me. i live outside the city.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by stevepaa

You forgot to mention that it was a proposition passed by the voters.

Just goes to show what a little fear mongering can do to the electorate.

That's really got nothing to do with it. Plenty of places would like to pass laws, even if my ballot initiative, that are clearly unconstitutional. I guess it's nice for those cases where polticians ignore the will of their constituents. But it's also the reason we have representative government, which is supposed to enact laws that comply with the state and U.S. Const. Sadly, a lot of folks who can vote have no idea what's in the Const. and even worse, a lot of those they elect view the Const. as something to find ways to get around.

[Rearden]

Too bad. I imagine the criminals were lined up, ready to turn in their guns.