S.F. Housing Authority agrees to let tenants own guns

[MicroBalrog]

S.F. Housing Authority agrees to let tenants own guns

Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

(01-13) 16:07 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- 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 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.

E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/14/BAJ7159KQO.DTL

Micro Sez:

This seems... to be a good thing?

[AZRedhawk44]

I had a very similar fight with my landlord about 6 years ago.

They attempted to amend my lease (and all tenants in the apartments), so that many things were banned, in response to some recent local news reports.  Among those things:
1.  BBQ Propane tanks
2.  Little coleman propane/butane camp tanks
3.  O2
4.  Ammunition
5.  Gunpowder / primers

I wrote them a certified letter stating I had no intention of complying with such an egregious modification of the original lease terms.  Furthermore I felt that the terms of the lease also violated my civil rights as defined in the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution.

I don't know how many other tenants did anything similar, but the property manager came and talked with me afterwards and then shortly after that, the management company rescinded the lease modification.

Tim Larsen, a lawyer for the Housing Authority, said Tuesday 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.

Regardless, all laws MUST be interpreted in the context of the worst possible abuse of power inherent in the government authority... not based upon the magnanimous nature of those charged with enforcing it.

I will never comply with an HOA/management directive to be weaponless or a similar provision (reloading gear, etc).

[Manedwolf]

State law here bans propane tanks being kept IN an apartment, which is just common sense, as a 20lb propane cylinder leaking could turn an entire apartment into one big bomb.

But there's nothing about ammo.

[Standing Wolf]

I've noticed more and more laws "address" as people say these days, situations that could or may or might lead to "trouble."

When do we "address," as it were, the real problem of drowning in laws?

[slingshot]

HUD housing has not allowed firearms in their apartment communities for a long time.  I frankly doubt it has changed nationwide.

[RaspberrySurprise]

State law here bans propane tanks being kept IN an apartment, which is just common sense, as a 20lb propane cylinder leaking could turn an entire apartment into one big bomb.

You'd think so. You'd be surprised at the number of people I have to tell to take their cylinders back outside when they come in to pay for an exchange, even funnier is the number of them that get angry at me for it.

[Manedwolf]

You'd think so. You'd be surprised at the number of people I have to tell to take their cylinders back outside when they come in to pay for an exchange, even funnier is the number of them that get angry at me for it.

There's big signs on the doors of supermarkets here to NOT bring them inside.

I've seen what can happen with just a bit of leaking propane. A muffler shop in S. Florida had a leak that they estimated as less than that much, someone came in, turned on the lights. The shop...wasn't there anymore. There was about one or two standing i-beams left, and pieces found a mile or more away. Rarified flammable gas in air plus spark is an unpleasant demonstration of thermodynamics and physics in general...

[Tallpine]

Rarified flammable gas in air plus spark is an unpleasant demonstration of thermodynamics and physics in general...

That might be a good recipe to remember 

[gunsmith]

HUD housing has not allowed firearms in their apartment communities for a long time.  I frankly doubt it has changed nationwide.

First I've heard of that, is there more info?
Seems like an easy win for ILA/NRA