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NRA
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CAL-ERT 07/08/08 ---
5:00 PM
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CALIFORNIA LITIGATION UPDATE
This
information is accurate at the time this CAL-ERT was written and
originally distributed. The
NRA Members' Councils of California
will keep you informed as the legislative and/or litigation
situation changes in California
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The following is from NRA's California
Attorney, Chuck Michel.
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NRA LEAD CIVIL RIGHTS COALITION DEMANDS
SAN FRANCISCO REPEAL ITS
“ULTRA-COMPACT” HANDGUN BAN
Today attorneys for a National Rifle
Association (NRA) lead coalition of self-defense civil rights
advocacy groups sent a pre-litigation demand letter to San
Francisco officials demanding the repeal of the San Francisco
ordinance (municipal code section 613.10-2) that bans the sale
of “ultra-compact” (less than 6 3/4 inches long or 4 ˝ inches
tall) handguns. The ordinance was passed in 2000 at the behest
of attorneys for the gun ban lobby. Oakland, San Francisco, and
Los Angeles passed the ordinance, misinterpreting gun “trace”
data to support their claim that the “ultra-compact” handguns
were used more often in crime. A similar letter was sent to
Oakland in June. Copies of the letters are posted at
www.calgunlaws.com.
If San Francisco refuses to repeal the
ordinance, the letter makes it more likely that San Francisco
will be forced to pay NRA’s attorney fees when the coalition
prevails in court. The NRA lead coalition includes the
California Rifle and Pistol Association, the Second Amendment
Foundation, Pink Pistols, the California Association of Firearm
Retailers, and others.
Since the ordinance was passed crime has
increased in San Francisco, and the proportional misuse of small
or medium sized handguns in crime has not decreased. Though
failing to dent the City’s crime problem, the ordinance has had
the effect of discriminating against women and the disabled, for
whom a small stature or physical disability often makes a
smaller framed firearm the best or only option. Interestingly,
all of the revolvers from Smith & Wesson, Sturm Ruger, Rossi and
Taurus that have less than a 2 ˝ inch barrel are banned by the
ordinance. These high quality and reliable short barreled
revolvers have for more than 30 years been the overwhelming
choice of law enforcement for back-up firearms, and are
generally safer for use by a person who is an infrequent user of
their firearm.
The pre-litigation demand letter cites
two recent court rulings to support its demand that the
ordinance be repealed. First, the Supreme Court decision in
District of Columbia vs. Heller confirmed that the Second
Amendment protects a fundamental individual right, as the
coalition’s members have been saying all along. Second, a recent
Court of Appeals decision (which the California Supreme Court
declined to overturn) clarified that local government authority
to regulate firearms is very limited. In Fiscal v. City and
County of San Francisco, the court carefully analyzed the
law regarding the preemption of local firearms ordinances. The
Fiscal court analyzed the provisions of the “Unsafe
Handgun Act” (UHA), and ruled that any firearms authorized for
sale under the UHA could not be prohibited from sale by local
governments. Approximately 40 handguns specifically tested and
approved for sale under the UHA are prohibited from being sold
by the ordinance.
The NRA brought the Fiscal suit
to challenge San Francisco’s Proposition H civilian handgun ban,
with assistance from the Second Amendment Foundation. All
members of the coalition filed valuable and significant amicus
briefs in both cases.
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__________________
C. D. "Chuck" Michel
Managing Partner
TRUTANICH-MICHEL, LLP, Attorneys at Law
Los Angeles Office
180 East Ocean Blvd., Suite 200
Long Beach, CA 90802
Phone: 562-216-4441 / Fax: 562-216-4445
Email: cmichel@tmllp.com
Website:
www.chuckmichel.com
Gun law info:
www.calgunlaws.com
Continue to monitor the latest legislative updates at:
http://NRAMembersCouncils.com/legs.shtml
A printable version of this CAL-ERT can be found at:
http://www.calnra.com/calerts/pdf/calert070808.pdf
Archived CAL-ERTs can be found at:
http://www.nramemberscouncils.com/calerts/archives/index.shtml
NRA Members’ Councils of California
http://NRAMembersCouncils.com
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