Stay Responds to Strong Recommendation by Judge Warren; Affects Both Firearm Distribution, Handgun Possession Provisions
SAN FRANCISCO (Feb. 27, 2006)-City Attorney Dennis Herrera today announced an agreement between his office and the National Rifle Association, principal plaintiff in the legal challenge to Proposition H, that will postpone enforcement of the ordinance for 90 days following the March 20 deadline set by San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren for both sides to submit proposed statements of decision. The agreement assures that no enforcement of the ordinance will occur until June 19, 2006 at the earliest.
The voluntary stay responds to a strongly-worded recommendation from Judge Warren at a hearing last week that enforcement of the ordinance be postponed while the suit is under consideration in the Superior Court. The stay of enforcement announced today implicates both of Proposition H’s substantive provisions: Section 2, which bans the sale, manufacture, transfer and distribution of firearms and ammunition within City limits; and Section 3, which restricts handgun possession among San Francisco residents to peace officers and those requiring them for professional purposes.
“Judge Warren strongly recommended that the City refrain from enforcing Prop H while the case is under submission, and the City Attorney will honor that recommendation,” said Matt Dorsey, spokesman for City Attorney Dennis Herrera. “We think a voluntary stay is the best, most prudent course in the midst of this litigation.”
The case is Fiscal v. City and County of San Francisco, S.F. Superior Court, Case No. CPF-05-505960.