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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

NRA Comes to SF to Challenge Gun Law

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - The NRA claims the City of San Francisco's "trigger lock" requirement for handguns in homes violates state laws and the Second Amendment. Plaintiffs include an officer of the San Francisco chapter of Pink Pistols, "an organization that represents the interests of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered firearms owners."

The NRA claims that requiring handguns to be rendered "inoperable at all times," makes it impossible for its members to use guns for self-defense, "particularly in urgent, life-threatening situations."

The ordinance also prohibits the firing of guns within the home in self-defense as well as the sale of ammunition "specifically designed for use in self-defense emergencies," the complaint states.

"What's the point of having a gun that doesn't work?" asked plaintiffs' attorney Don Kates. "In my opinion this case is a hands-down winner under state law and the Second Amendment."

Kates said one witness will testify that as an attorney, he has counseled two clients who fired on intruders in their homes. Sympathetic police officers had advised his clients to say their guns discharged accidentally, to avoid punishment for firing their weapons on attackers.

Plaintiffs range from a 74-year-old black woman to a gay civil rights activist and officer of the San Francisco chapter of Pink Pistols.

Kates cited a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, District of Columbia v. Heller, that struck down a similar ordinance. The Supreme Court found that requiring gun owners to use trigger locks "makes it impossible for citizens to use them for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional."

The NRA and the San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association seek an injunction.

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