NRA, 26 Conservative States Sue To Overturn San Francisco Gun Security Rules
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The National Rifle Association and 26 strongly Republican states are suing San Francisco to stop the city from enforcing its laws requiring handguns be locked up when not being handled.
The 2007 ordinance requires that weapons either be in a locked location or have trigger locks when stored at home.
"This ordinance violates the right to keep and bear arms protected by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution," reads the petition issued to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of private citizens and the NRA, among others.
Opponents of the ordinance claim the law is similar to one deemed unconstitutional in Washington, D.C.
"San Francisco's locked storage requirement is substantially similar to the law the Supreme Court in Heller found to be invalid. Such blatant infringement on . . . citizens' rights warrants review by this Court."
San Francisco's city attorney office spokesperson Matt Dorsey responded Friday afternoon, saying, "It is regrettable that so many have lined up against a common sense gun law. The law only requires trigger locks on the guns and no way violates individual rights under the constitution."
Dorsey added, "San Francisco has been a target of the gun lobby for many years and this shows the influence they have. Even Republicans who sit on the Ninth Circuit Federal Court agreed with the city of San Francisco on this law."
The States of Nebraska, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming filed the brief in support of petitioners.
In 2012, efforts by the NRA to block the ban were rejected in court.