On October 22, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed on its first reading, a package of gun control measures, including a ban on the possession of so-called “large capacity magazines,” defined as ammunition feeding devices capable of holding more than ten rounds. It is highly anticipated that the anti-gun Board of Supervisors will give final approval of this ordinance at its next meeting on October 29, and it will be signed into law. Once this ban goes into effect, residents will have ninety days to surrender their magazines or remove them from the city.
Your NRA has been closely monitoring the escalating situation in San Francisco, and submitted a letter opposing this most recent attempt to strip away the rights of San Francisco residents. Our letter specifically points out that by banning ammunition magazines holding ten or more rounds – magazines owned by millions for self-defense – this ordinance plainly conflicts with the Second Amendment.
As the U.S. Supreme Court recently made clear, firearms and accessories “typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes” or those “in common use” are protected by the Constitution and cannot be flatly banned. NRA’s California legal team Michel & Associates is prepared to immediately file a Second Amendment civil rights lawsuit seeking to prevent this new law from taking effect and to have it declared unconstitutional.
But San Francisco is, unfortunately, not the only California city close to enacting this unconstitutional restriction. A nearly identical magazine ban will be considered by Sunnyvale voters on November 5. To view our opposition letter, please click here. Should Sunnyvale voters approve this ballot measure, it will take effect in early 2014. Litigation against Sunnyvale is also likely should a majority of the town’s voters agree to deprive their gun-owning neighbors of their civil rights. The City of Los Angeles has repeatedly placed a similar ordinance on its agenda, but has not yet taken any action to put the ordinance into effect.
If you will be affected by the unlawful magazine bans in San Francisco or Sunnyvale, you are welcome to contact Michel & Associates to discuss your options.
To assist in our fight against this attack on gun owners’ rights in California, please donate to the NRA Legal Action Project here. Rest assured that your donation will be used for the benefit of Californians. In the unlikely event that neither law passes, these funds will be put to good use challenging other unconstitutional restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms throughout the state. For a summary of the many actions the NRA legal team has taken or is currently taking on behalf of California gun owners, click here.
Second Amendment supporters should also be careful about supporting litigation efforts promised by other individuals and groups without access to the necessary funding, relationships, firearm experts and experienced lawyers on the NRA’s national legal team. The NRA’s team of highly regarded civil rights attorneys and scholars has the resources, skills and expertise to maximize the potential for victory. Please donate to the NRA Legal Action Project today!
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