Slappy Posted January 15, 2009 at 03:55 AM Share Posted January 15, 2009 at 03:55 AM article SAN FRANCISCOHousing Authority settles gun lawsuit Bob Egelko Wednesday, January 14, 2009 The San Francisco Housing Authority has agreed to allow its residents to own guns in a settlement of a National Rifle Association lawsuit that followed last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the right to bear arms. In papers filed Monday with a federal judge, the Housing Authority agreed not to enforce a provision it added to tenant leases in 2005 prohibiting the possession of guns and ammunition. The ban will now apply only to illegal gun ownership, like possession of a machine gun or possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The National Rifle Association filed the suit on behalf of an unidentified San Francisco tenant a day after the Supreme Court's June 2008 ruling that declared the Constitution's Second Amendment gave Americans the right to possess guns for self-defense. It was one of a number of suits filed by gun advocates against local firearms restrictions around the nation after the court struck down a Washington, D.C., handgun ban. Tim Larsen, a lawyer for the Housing Authority, said Tuesday that the agency never intended to enforce its 2005 ban against law-abiding gun owners and has never done so, even though the lease provision covered legal as well as illegal weapons. "Our intention was to go after people who were engaged in criminal activity," Larsen said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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