San Francisco Loses Appeal on Gun Ban

The City of San Francisco has lost its appeal to get its gun ban reinstated.

In today’s 3-0 ruling, the appeals court cited its own 1982 decision overturning a San Francisco ordinance that prohibited handgun possession within city limits.

Sponsors of Prop. H had hoped to comply with that ruling by drafting a narrower measure that applied only to San Francisco residents. But the court said the 1982 decision properly interpreted state law as “depriving local entities of any power to regulate handgun possession on private property.”

The court declined San Francisco’s request to allow the city to enforce the ban on the manufacture or sale of rifles and shotguns, saying the city must first rewrite the ordinance to narrow its scope.

Noting the existence of state gun laws, Presiding Justice Ignazio Ruvolo said, “When it comes to regulating firearms, local governments are well advised to tread lightly.”

Take that hippies! It would seem preemption, at least, is alive and well in The Golden State.

UPDATE: NRA has their press release.

UPDATE: The decision can be found here.  The original San Francisco Superior Court case can be found here.

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