Please contact the members of the City Council IMMEDIATELY!
The South San Francisco City Council is scheduled to consider an ordinance tomorrow night that would impose sweeping ammunition restrictions on retailers and law-abiding gun owners.
The proposed ordinance mandates the reporting of all ammunition sales over 500 rounds to local law enforcement, and requires retailers record the purchasing information for all sales of ammunition and keep the records for two years. The ordinance also seeks to ban the sale of ammunition identified in the ordinance as "ballistically-identical" to "black talon" ammunition, and any ammunition manufactured only for law enforcement and/or military use. Although the ammunition sales ban is ambiguously crafted, the Staff Report indicates that the City interpreted the ordinance to ban hollow-point ammunition. Both proposals represent a step in succumbing to the pressure exerted by the City of San Francisco, which has a long history of ill-conceived, stringent gun control and is seeking to push its agenda and impose its will on neighboring cities.
On March 25, 2013, attorneys from Michel & Associates, P.C. submitted an opposition letter to the South San Francisco City Council Members and the City Attorney, on behalf of the National Rifle Association (NRA), the California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA), and FFLGuard opposing the ordinance.
The letter spells out the vagueness and ambiguity issues raised by the ammunition sales ban, and notes the City’s problematic statements on the record that the ordinance is intended to ban the sale of commonly-possessed and constitutionally-protected hollow point ammunition. The letter placed the City on notice that, if the law is passed as interpreted to ban the sale of hollow-point ammunition, the City will face immediate litigation. As a result, the City backed off its previous statements that the law applies to hollow-point ammunition, and NRA lawyers are in the process of obtaining formal written clarification from the City that the ordinance does not restrict hollow-point ammunition, and applies only to cartridges that are exactly identical in all respects to "black talon" ammunition.
The NRA is engaged in similar efforts with the City of San Francisco for an ordinance passed earlier this month, and stands committed to protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens to access and use effective self-defense and hunting ammunition. The NRA has already taken San Francisco to task over the unconstitutionality of its current ban on the sale of hollow-point ammunition and its requirement that all handguns be kept locked up in the home when not being carried. That case, Jackson v. City and County of San Francisco, is currently before the Ninth Circuit and seeks to resolve many of the issues left unanswered by the Supreme Court in Heller v. District of Columbia. The Jackson plaintiffs are also represented by attorneys from Michel & Associates, P.C.
The opposition letter also details the legal and policy issues with the proposed ordinance, informing the City that each restriction violates various constitutional principles, including the Second Amendment. The letter also exposes the ammunition sales registration proposal’s ineffectiveness and explains the unnecessary burdens placed on gun owners and law enforcement. Additionally, the letter informs the City that the ammunition registration component is preempted by state law.
FFLGuard, the nation’s premiere compliance and legal defense program for Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs), provided perspective on the real consequences the City’s proposals will have on licensed ammunition retailers.
On February 14, 2013, FFLGuard also assisted the NRA’s efforts to bring some sanity to the gun laws in San Francisco, when it submitted a Ninth Circuit amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief in support of the Jackson plaintiffs’ appeal. FFLGuard was the only association specifically representing the interests of firearms retailers to submit such a brief.
Please contact the Council members TODAY and let them know you oppose this attack on your rights!
Mark Addiego mark.addiego@ssf.net (650) 829-6601
Rich Garbarino rich.garbarino@ssf.net (650) 829-6601
Pedro Gonzalez pedro.gonzalez@ssf.net (650) 829-6601
Karyl Matsumoto karyl.matsumoto@ssf.net (650) 829-6601
Pradeep Gupta pradeep.gupta@ssf.net (650) 829-6601
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