Proposition H was a local ordinance on the November 8, 2005 ballot in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, which gained national attention for its banning of most

firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

within the city. The measure passed with a yes vote of 123,033 to a no vote of 89,856. The proposition was later struck down in court.

Proposition summary

Proposition H sought to restrict

handgun A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ...

possession among San Francisco residents within city limits to police and certain security professionals, and to ban the manufacture, distribution, sale and transfer of

and

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

within the city. Limited exceptions to the proposition would have allowed residents to possess handguns only if required for specific professional purposes. For example, San Francisco residents who are

security guards A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) from a variety ...

peace officers A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws. The phrase can include campaign disclosure specialists, local police officers, pros ...

, or active members of the

U.S. armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

would be permitted to possess handguns while on duty. The

San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco. Government and politics The City and County of San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, being simultaneously a c ...

enacted penalties for violation of this ordinance, including mandatory jail time. Until April 1, 2006, residents would have been able to surrender their handguns to any district station of the San Francisco Police Department or the

San Francisco Sheriff's Department The San Francisco Sheriff's Office (SFSO), officially the City and County of San Francisco Sheriff's Office, is the sheriff's office for the City and County of San Francisco. The current sheriff is Paul Miyamoto. The department has 850 deputized ...

without penalty (no refund of buying cost was planned).

The main sponsors

The measure was placed on the ballot with supporting signatures from Supervisors

Tom Ammiano Tom Ammiano (born December 15, 1941) is an American politician and LGBT rights activist from San Francisco, California. Ammiano, a member of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus, served as a member of the California State Assembly from 2008 to ...

Chris Daly Christopher Edward Daly (born August 13, 1972) is a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He represented District 6, serving from 2001 to 2011. He now lives in Fairfield, California,Huett, Ellen (March 24, 2014"How tech beca ...

Bevan Dufty Bevan Dufty (born February 27, 1955) is an American politician and Director of HOPE (Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement) for the City and County of San Francisco. In 2012, Dufty was elected to serve as a Member of the San Francis ...

and

Matt Gonzalez Matthew Edward Gonzalez (born June 4, 1965) is an American politician, lawyer, and activist. He served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2001 and 2005 and was president of the Board. In 2003, Gonzalez, running as a member of the Gre ...

. Supervisor

Michela Alioto-Pier Michela Alioto-Pier (born April 29, 1968) is an American politician and small business owner who served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2004 to 2011. A Democrat, she represented District 2, encompassing the Marina and P ...

initially supported the ordinance but formally withdrew her sponsorship on February 23, 2005.

Groups in opposition

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

Asian Week ''AsianWeek'' was America's first and largest English language print and on-line publication serving Asian Americans. The news organization played an important role nationally and in the San Francisco Bay Area as the “Voice of Asian America”. ...

* Frontlines *

The Argonaut ''The Argonaut'' was a newspaper based in San Francisco, California from 1878 to 1956. It was founded by Frank Somers, and soon taken over by Frank M. Pixley, who built it into a highly regarded publication. Under Pixley's stewardship it was c ...

*San Francisco Deputy Sheriff's Association *San Francisco Police Officer's Association *San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association *

BART Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Barthol ...

Police Officers SEIU Local 1008 *California Association of Highway Patrolmen *

Fraternal Order of Police The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is a fraternal organization consisting of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It reports a membership of over 355,000 members organized in 2,100 local chapters (lodges), state lodges, and the ...

(California State Lodge) *

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

Democratic Club *Coalition For SF Neighborhoods *The

Haight Ashbury Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called The Haight and The Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the counterculture ...

Neighborhood Council *

Mexican American Political Association The Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) is an organization based in California that promotes the interests of Mexican-Americans, Mexicans, Latinos, Chicanos, Hispanics, and Latino economic refugees in the United States. Founded in 1960, ...

Outer Mission Outer Mission is a small residential neighborhood on the south edge of San Francisco, bounded by Geneva Avenue (on the northeast), Interstate 280 (on the northwest), Mission Street (on the southwest), and the city of Daly City (on the south). ...

Residents Association A neighborhood association (NA) is a group of residents or property owners who advocate to organize activities within a neighborhood. An association may have elected leaders and voluntary dues. Some neighborhood associations in the United States ...

* Richmond District Democratic Club *San Francisco Housing Rights Association *San Francisco

Pink Pistols The Pink Pistols are an LGBTQ gun rights organization in the United States and Canada. Their motto is "Pick on someone your own caliber". History Inspired by a Salon.com article written by Jonathan Rauch, Krikket (aka Doug Krick), a libertaria ...

*The National Rifle Association

Results at the polls

The City population of San Francisco is at least 805,235, without counting people not registered, or travelling/working in the metro area.

Demise in the courts

Proposition H would have taken effect January 1, 2006, but enforcement was suspended by litigation. On June 13, 2006, in the case of Fiscal v. City and County of San Francisco (Case No. CPF-05-505960), San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren struck down the ban, saying local governments have no such authority under California law. Judge Warren sided with the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

Second Amendment Foundation The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) is a United States nonprofit organization that supports gun rights. Founded in 1974 by Alan Gottlieb and headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, SAF publishes gun rights magazines and public education materials ...

, and other petitioners represented by Chuck Michel o
Trutanich-Michel, LLP
in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, who sued on behalf of gun owners, advocates and dealers the day after the measure passed. Judge Warren wrote in his 30-page ruling that "Proposition H is adjudged invalid as preempted by state law." The judge's decision was not without precedent considering a California appeals court nullified an almost identical San Francisco gun ban on exactly the same grounds in 1982. The City appealed Judge Warren's ruling, but lost by a unanimous decision from the three judge panel in the

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

issued on January 9, 2008. On February 19, 2008, San Francisco asked the

California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...

to review Court of Appeal's decision. The state Supreme Court reached a unanimous decision on April 9, 2008, that rejected the city's appeal and upheld the lower courts' decision. In October 2008, San Francisco was forced to pay a $380,000 settlement to the National Rifle Association and other plaintiffs to cover the costs of litigating Proposition H.Matier, Phillip; Andrew Ross (October 27, 2008
"Newsom's city car makes trip to his wedding."
''San Francisco Chronicle.'' (Retrieved on 11-2-08.) On June 28, 2010, the Supreme Court decided that the Second Amendment applied to the states in the case ''

McDonald v. City of Chicago ''McDonald v. City of Chicago'', 561 U.S. 742 (2010), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that found that the right of an individual to "keep and bear arms", as protected under the Second Amendment, is incorporated ...

'', striking down all handgun bans nationwide.

References

External links

Full text of Proposition HFull text of San Francisco's appeal of the court's decisionVoters take stand against guns, recruiting at schoolsJudge invalidates Prop. H handgun banSan Francisco Board of Supervisors websiteNational Rifle Association website

{{San Francisco, California United States firearms law Government of San Francisco Politics of San Francisco