States challenge San Francisco firearm ordinance

Over half of the country’s states are challenging San Francisco’s new firearm ordinance, saying it threatens Second Amendment rights.

Attorneys General from 26 states filed a federal lawsuit last week against the California city over a new law requiring firearms within the city limits to be stored in a locked container or with a trigger lock at all times in the home, unless the owner is carrying the firearm, The Washington Post reports. The ordinance applies even if someone is the sole occupant of the home.

According to the suit, the ordinance infringes upon the Second Amendment rights of gun owners who wish to protect themselves in their homes. The suit asks the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the San Francisco law, according to WTVY, an Alabama TV news outlet.

“Common sense dictates that in high stress, emergency situations, the ease and speed with which a person can utilize one of these mechanisms to unlock a safe drastically decreases,” the suit reads. “It is common to fumble with keys while trying to hurriedly unlock a door, to forget a series of numbers when under pressure or to struggle with hand-eye coordination when subjected to stressors.”

The Supreme Court previously ruled in a similar case, District of Columbia v. Heller, that “citizens must be permitted to use [handguns] for the core lawful purpose of self-defense,” according to WTVY.

“Under this Court’s precedent, San Francisco’s ordinance must be stricken because its restrictions extend to possession of a firearm by a law-abiding, responsible citizen for self-defense in the home,” Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange (R) noted in the suit.

The suit was submitted by Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning (R) and included the Attorneys General from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming, The Washington Post reports.

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