Vice President Kamala Harris supported a 2005 ballot measure that banned San Francisco residents from possessing pistols.
The Democratic presidential nominee backed Proposition H in her role as the city’s District Attorney at the time. The measure banned San Francisco residents from buying, selling, or even possessing handguns. With exceptions included for active-duty law enforcement, military, and licensed security guards, 58 percent voted in favor of the measure. But it faced immediate legal scrutiny from the National Rifle Association (NRA), California Rifle and Pistol Assocaition (CRPA), and other gun-rights groups.
“San Francisco was a leader in proposing gun restrictions at the local level, and she never met a gun control law she didn’t like,” Chuck Michel, who represented the NRA and CRPA in its fight against the city, told The Reload. “Prop H was the crowning jewel.”
Harris broke with other prominent gun-control advocates in backing the ban and confiscation measure, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
“Although Mayor Gavin Newsom has not taken a position, several of the city’s most liberal leaders are supporting the far-reaching ban — including District Attorney Kamala Harris and four supervisors who are listed as sponsors,” Mary Anne Ostrom reported at the time–adding that Dianne Feinstein didn’t support the measure despite imposing her own failed handgun ban when she was mayor. “Feinstein, now a U.S. senator, is not taking a position on Proposition H, because she feels the state’s top court has already ruled, a spokesman said.”
By Stephen Gutowski
