San Diego moves to tighten firearm storage regulations
Ordinance passes, but another round of public comments and a second vote await.
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego City Council voted 6 to 2 Monday in the first of two votes to approve a new gun storage ordinance aimed at preventing accidental shootings and other firearm-related injuries and deaths.
The vote came after about 90 minutes of public comment, with about twothirds of those who spoke urging the council to pass the ordinance. Councilmen Chris Cate and Scott Sherman voted against the ordinance, to the loud approval of gun rights activists and others who had opposed the proposed regulations.
The vote was the first of two required for the ordinance to become law, allowing residents a second opportunity to comment on the proposal. The council did not indicate when it plans to hold the second vote.
San Diego City Atty. Mara Elliott proposed the Safe Storage of Firearms Ordinance last month to the council’s Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee. She presented it to the full council Monday.
“As a mother and a prosecutor, I understand the importance of protecting children and families from tragedies that common-sense precautions like safe storage could have averted,” Elliott said after the vote. “This law will prevent life-altering accidental shootings by reminding gun owners that they are responsible for securely storing their guns for the protection of those around them.”
The proposal would require all firearms in a residence be stored in a locked container, or disabled by a trigger lock, unless they are being carried by or are under control of the owner, according to a news release last month from Elliott and a staff report by her office.
According to the staff report, which was issued in May, the measure “does not substantially burden the right or ability of owners to use firearms for self-defense in the home.”
Sherman echoed those from the public who opposed the ordinance, saying he believes it may prevent homeowners from protecting themselves if they’re unable to access their firearms quickly enough.
Michael Schwartz, executive director of the political action committee San Diego County Gun Owners, said in a statement after the vote that the ordinance “is unenforceable and unconstitutional and it invades someone’s privacy and choice in their own home.” Schwartz said there is “nothing common sense” about the proposal, which Elliott has repeatedly called a “common-sense gun-safety law.”
Among the groups that support the ordinance is the San Diego Police Officers Assn., according to Elliott’s office. State Assemblyman Todd Gloria spoke in favor of the ordinance at Monday’s meeting.