California Supreme Court Strikes Down Prop H

Fairfax, VA -The California State Supreme Court has ruled that Proposition H, the draconian gun ban proposed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors violates California law. This exhausts all possible avenues for appeal by the Board of Supervisors. Proposition H would ban the manufacture, distribution, sale and transfer of firearms and ammunition within San Francisco. The National Rifle Association was the lead organization fighting this ban.

NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre welcomed the ruling stating, "Freedom and common sense have prevailed today. Proposition H was a foolish scheme that would have disarmed only the law-abiding in San Francisco. The NRA said that we will do everything we can to overturn this ill-conceived gun ban and I am pleased to say that we have delivered on that promise."

Earlier this year, San Francisco asked the California Supreme Court to review a Court of Appeal's decision asserting that under California law, local officials do not have the authority to ban firearms from law abiding residents. That ruling was made by San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren and was later upheld in a unanimous opinion from a three judge panel in the Court of Appeals issued in January, 2008.

Chris W. Cox, NRA chief lobbyist, stated, "We are pleased with the Supreme Court ruling.. The NRA filed our lawsuit after Proposition H passed arguing that the proposition was in violation of California preemption laws that clearly assert that firearm laws are regulated by the state and not local municipalities. Our belief that the authors of this measure authored this proposed measure with gross disregard of California law has been confirmed by the Supreme Court. Regrettably, San Francisco taxpayers had to bear the considerable financial burden to satisfy the careless political whim of their elected officials."

The San Francisco Police Officers Association also opposed the ban, stating that the new law nullified "the personal choice of city residents to lawfully possess a handgun for self-defense purposes."

-NRA-

Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military.