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(a) "Firearm" shall mean any device, designed to be used as a weapon or modified to be used as a weapon, that expels a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.
(b) "Firearm ammunition" shall mean any cartridge or encasement containing a bullet or projectile, propellent or explosive charge, and a primer which is used in the operation of a firearm.
(c) "Firearm ammunition component" shall mean any cartridge or encasement, bullet or projectile, primer or propellent or explosive material used in the manufacture of ammunition.
(d) "Firearm capable of being concealed upon the person" shall mean any such firearm as defined in California Penal Code Section 12001(a).
(e) "Transfer" shall include, but shall not be limited to, the redemption of a pawned or pledged firearm by any individual including the individual who pawned or pledged the firearm.
(f) "Ultracompact firearm" shall mean any pistol, revolver, handgun or other firearm that is 6.75 inches or less in length or 4.5 inches or less in height, measured with the magazine detached, but shall not include any such firearm that is an unsafe handgun defined by Section 12126 of the California Penal Code.
(Added by Ord. 91-94, App. 2/25/94; amended by Ord. 225-96, App. 6/7/96; Ord. 283-96, App. 7/3/96, Eff. 1/1/97; Ord. 131-99, File No. 990493, App. 5/28/99; Ord. 62-00, File No. 000197, App. 4/14/2000; Ord. 242-00, File No. 000950, App. 10/27/2000; Ord. 260-04, File No. 031932, App. 11/4/2004)
(a) The application for a license to engage in the business of selling, leasing or otherwise transferring any firearm, firearms ammunition, or firearms ammunition component shall be signed under penalty of perjury and shall set forth:
(1) The name, age and address of the applicant, as well as the name, age and address of all persons who will have access to or control of workplace firearms, firearm ammunition, or firearm ammunition components, including but not limited to, the applicant's employees, agents and or supervisors, if any;
(2) The address of the location for which the license is required, together with the business name of such location, if any;
(3) All convictions of the applicant for any of the offenses listed in Section 613.3(e);
(4) All information relating to licenses or permits relating to firearms or other weapons sought by the applicant from other jurisdictions, including, but not limited to date of application and whether each such application resulted in issuance of a license;
(5) All information relating to revocations of licenses or permits relating to firearms, including but not limited to date and circumstances of revocation;
(6) Applicant's agreement to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the City, its officers, agents, and employees, from and against any and all claims, losses, costs, damages and liabilities of any kind, arising in any manner out of the applicant's negligence or intentional or wilful misconduct;
(7) Applicant's understanding that the City shall have the right to enter the building designated in the license from time to time during regular business hours to make reasonable inspections and to investigate and enforce compliance with building, mechanical, fire, electrical, plumbing, or health regulations, provisions of this Article, and all other applicable federal, state, and local laws.
(b) Each application must be accompanied by evidence that the applicant has satisfied the insurance requirements stated in Section 613.13 of this Article.
(c) All persons listed on the application form as having access to, or control of, workplace firearms, firearm ammunition, or firearm ammunition components shall obtain a certificate of eligibility under Penal Code Section 12071 from the state Department of Justice. A copy of the certificate of eligibility for each such person shall be submitted with the application.
(d) The Chief of Police shall conduct a criminal history background check on the applicant and on all other persons listed on the application form as having access to, or control of, workplace firearms, firearm ammunition, or firearm ammunition components, including but not limited to, the applicant's employees, agents and/or supervisors, if any, and shall determine whether such persons have been convicted of any offenses described in subsection (e) of Section 613.3, or are among the persons described in subsections (f) or (g) of Section 613.3. Where the Chief of Police determines that one or more of the applicants, employees, agents or supervisors have been convicted of an offense described in subsection (e) of Section 613.3, or are among the persons described in subsections (f) or (g) of Section 613.3, the applicant shall have 21 days from the mailing of written notification from the Chief of Police to provide evidence in a form acceptable to the Chief of Police that such persons have been removed or reassigned so that they no longer have access to or control of workplace firearms, firearm ammunition, or firearm ammunition components. In the event that an applicant fails to comply with this subsection, the Chief of Police shall deny the license.
(e) As used in this Section, the term "applicant" when the applicant is other than a natural person shall include any officer, director, employee or agent of the applicant who has access to, or control of, workplace firearms, firearm ammunition, or firearm ammunition components.
(Amended by Ord. 407-86, App. 10/3/86; Ord. 91-94, App. 2/25/94; Ord. 260-04, File No. 031932, App. 11/4/2004)
The Chief of Police shall deny the issuance or renewal of a license when any of the following conditions exist:
(a) The applicant is under the age of 21 years.
(b) The applicant is not licensed as required by all applicable federal, State and local laws.
(c) The applicant has had a firearms license previously revoked or denied for good cause within the immediately preceding two years.
(d) The applicant has made a false or misleading statement of a material fact, or omission of a material fact, in the application for a license. If a license is denied on this ground, the applicant shall be prohibited from reapplying for a license for a period of two years.
(e) The applicant has been convicted of:
(1) Any offense so as to disqualify the applicant from owning or possessing a firearm under applicable federal, State, and local laws, including but not limited to the offenses listed in California Penal Code Section 12021;
(2) Any offense relating to the manufacture, sale, possession, use, or registration of any firearm or dangerous or deadly weapon;
(3) Any offense involving the use of force or violence upon the person of another;
(4) Any offense involving theft, fraud, dishonesty, or deceit, including but not limited to any of the offenses listed in Title 7 (Crimes Against Public Justice) and title 13, Chapters 4 (Forgery and Counterfeiting), 5 (Larceny), 6 (Embezzlement), 7 (Extortion), 8 (False Personation), 13 and 14 (Fraud) of the California Penal Code;
(5) Any offense involving the manufacture, sale, possession or use of any controlled substance as defined by the California Health and Safety Code as said definition now reads or may hereafter be amended to read.
(f) The applicant is within the classes of persons defined in California Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 8100 or 8103.
(g) The applicant is (1) currently, or has been within the past two years, an unlawful user of any controlled substance as defined by the California Health and Safety Code as said definition now reads or may hereafter be amended to read; or (2) an excessive user of alcohol, to the extent that such use would impair his or her fitness to be a dealer in firearms.
(h) The operation of the business as proposed would not comply with all applicable federal, State, and local laws.
(i) The applicant, or an officer, employee, or agent thereof, proposes to operate in the following locations:
(1) Within any RH, RM, RC, NC or RED zoning district, or within 1,000 feet of the exterior limits of any such district;
(2) Within 1,000 feet of a public or private day care center or day care home, or within 1,000 feet of any elementary, junior high or high school whether public or private;
(3) On or within 1,500 feet of the exterior limits of any other premises used as a place of business by a dealer in firearms;
(4) Within 1,000 feet of a community center, church, neighborhood center, recreational center, whether public or private, where regularly scheduled activities are conducted for people under 18 years of age.
(j) The applicant, or an officer, employee or agent thereof does not have, and/or cannot provide evidence of a possessory interest in the property at which the proposed business will be conducted.
(k) Any other ground for denial exists under any applicable provision of federal, State or local law.
(l) The applicant fails to comply with the requirements of subsections (c) or (d) of Section 613.2.
As used in this Section, the term "applicant" when the applicant is other than a natural person shall include any officer, director, employee or agent of the applicant who has access to, or control of, workplace firearms, firearm ammunition, or firearm ammunition components.
(Added by Ord. 91-94, App. 2/25/94; amended by Ord. 322-96, App. 8/8/96; Ord. 260-04, File No. 031932, App. 11/4/2004)
Upon receiving an application that is not rejected for one of the reasons stated in Section 613.3, the Police Department shall refer the application to the Bureau of Building Inspection, the Fire Department, and the City Planning Department, which departments shall inspect the premises to be used for the sale of concealable firearms and shall report to the Police Department concerning compliance with the codes they administer, and compliance with this Article.
(Added by Ord. 161-75, App. 4/23/75; amended by Ord. 91-94, App. 2/25/94)
When an application is filed for a license under this Article, and the application is not denied for one of the reasons stated in Section 613.3, the Police Department shall fix a time and place for a public hearing regarding the application. Not less than 10 days before the date of such hearing, the Police Department shall cause to be posted a notice of such hearing in a conspicuous place on the property in which the proposed business is to be operated and the applicant shall maintain said notice as posted until the day following the hearing.
(Added by Ord. 161-75, App. 4/23/75; amended by Ord. 91-94, App. 2/25/94)
All licenses issued pursuant to this Article shall expire one year after the date of issuance; provided, however, that such licenses may be renewed by the Chief of Police for additional periods of one year upon the approval of an application for renewal by the Chief of Police and payment of the renewal fee. Such renewal application shall set forth the information listed in Section 613.2 and must be received by the Chief of Police, in completed form, no later than 45 days prior to the expiration of the current license.
(Added by Ord. 91-94, App. 2/25/94)
In order to discourage the theft of firearms stored on the premises of a firearms dealer, each business licensed under this Article must adhere to security measures as required by the Chief of Police. Security measures shall include but not be limited to:
(a) Provision of secure locks, windows and doors, adequate lighting, and alarms as specified by the Chief of Police;
(b) Storage of all firearms on the premises out of the reach of customers in secure, locked facilities, so that access to firearms shall be controlled by the dealer or employees of the dealer, to the exclusion of all others.
(Added by Ord. 91-94, App. 2/25/94)
1. "Enhanced-lethality ammunition" means the ammunition that licensees may not sell, lease or otherwise transfer under Police Code Sec. 613.10(g).
2. Enhanced-lethality ammunition is designed to tear larger wounds in the body by flattening and increasing in diameter on impact and/or exploding and dispersing shrapnel throughout the body. These design features increase the likelihood that the bullet will hit a major artery or organ, that it will take a more circuitous path through the body to create more widespread damage, and that it will release all of its propulsive force inside the body to cause maximum injury. Accordingly, enhanced-lethality ammunition is more likely to cause severe injury and death than is conventional ammunition that does not flatten or fragment upon impact.
3. Enhanced-lethality ammunition has been used in shooting massacres both in San Francisco and abroad. On July 1, 1993, heavily armed gunman Gian Luigi Ferri shot and killed eight people, then himself, in the 101 California Street high-rise in San Francisco using hollow-point bullets. Most recently, on July 24, 2011, Anders Behring Breivik used lethality-enhanced bullets designed to fragment inside the body and cause maximum internal damage to kill and grievously wound dozens of children at a youth camp in Norway.
4. Banning the sale of enhanced-lethality ammunition in San Francisco does not substantially burden the right of self defense. The right to use firearms in self defense can be fully exercised using conventional, non-collapsing, non-fragmenting ammunition. Enhanced-lethality ammunition is not in general use, and this unusually injurious ammunition has been banned outside the United States. For example, the Hague Convention of 1899, Declaration III, has for more than a century prohibited the use in warfare of bullets that easily expand or flatten in the body.
5. Personal firearms kept in the home are more likely to be used against family and friends than intruders. Home firearms may also be used in suicide attempts, accidental shootings and criminal assaults.
6. The City and County of San Francisco has a legitimate, important and compelling governmental interest in reducing the likelihood that shooting victims in San Francisco will die of their injuries by reducing the lethality of the ammunition sold and used in the City and County of San Francisco.
(Added by Ord. 206-11
, File No. 110901, App. 10/11/2011, Eff. 11/10/2011)
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