GOA Wins Battle In San Francisco Courts!
— Gun ban is overturned

For Immediate Release
June 13, 2006
Contact: Ellie McDaniel
703-321-8585

Yesterday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren overturned voter-approved Measure H, a city ordinance that banned the private possession of handguns and the sale of all firearms in the city.

GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt called this an “important victory” for gun owners, as Gun Owners of America underwrote the costs of filing a friend of the court (amicus) brief by the founder of Gun Owners, California state Sen. H.L. Richardson (ret.).

“Sen. Richardson’s amicus brief was important in this case because, while in his service in the California Senate, he sponsored the law that prohibits what the voters of San Francisco recently did,” Pratt said. “California state law preempts, thanks to Richardson, any local measures banning or registering firearms.

“Gun Owners is thankful that the courts did not disregard the preemption law Richardson enacted. We all know that courts frequently have a problem following the law and seeking guidance from the record of those who made the law,” Pratt said.

Richardson’s preemption law has been upheld in previous cases, so with the obvious meaning of the law and the history of judicial rulings supporting it, prospects for overturning the plebiscite looked good.

“Victory in court now frees the 42 percent of San Franciscans who voted against violating a constitutional right to own a handgun in the city,” Pratt said. “Unhappily it is for practical purposes impossible to get a concealed carry permit there, so, lots of luck when venturing forth from one’s San Francisco dwelling. Unless, that is, you are someone important such as Mrs. Gun Ban, a.k.a. Sen. Diane Feinstein.”

This ruling may not be appealed given the fact that even S.F. Mayor Gavin Newsome was reported to say that this effort was contrary to state law. Interestingly, the San Francisco Police Officers Association opposed the ban, saying the law nullified “the personal choice of city residents to possess a handgun for self-defense purposes.”

“GOA would like to thank all of those who have contributed to Gun Owners Foundation, which makes lawsuits like this possible,” Pratt said. “Gun Owners Foundation is part of the Combined Federal Campaign — Agency Number 1054.”