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Victory in San Francisco

Just got an email from Don Kates:

Last November San Francisco enacted what was billed as a handgun ban -- it banned and confiscated all handguns in the city and severely restricted even police access to handguns -- but also included a ban on sale of all long guns,

As to the Nov., 2005 ban(s), suit was brought by a law firm w/ which I am Of Counsel, Trutanich & Michel, on behalf of the NRA and many individual San Franciscans. Today the SF Superior Court threw out the entire Ordinance. Kudos are due to a host of lawyers who filed amicus briefs including one for the Pink Pistols a group championing the right of gays to possess arms for self-defense.

The case is not over for the City will doubtless appeal.

This was Round 2: In 1982 San Francisco had enacted a similar handgun ban that did not apply to long guns at all. Twin cases were filed then, one by the NRA and one by me on behalf of the Second Amendment Foundation, and that ban was held invalid as contrary to state law.

[UPDATE in light of comment: I remember at some point in the early or mid 1980s there was a major antigun initiative on the ballot in California, very heavily hyped by the media. At breakfast the day after the vote, I told my then-wife (may she RIP) that the progun side had won. She asked how I knew -- there hadn't been one mention of it on television, or in the Washington Post. I said that's how I knew we'd won. And we had.]