Committee advances measure to ban concealed guns at certain San Francisco public gatherings

Supervisor Catherine Stefani told the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee on April 18 that she introduced an ordinance in February to amend the Police Code and prohibit concealed firearms at certain public gatherings, saying the change would protect people exercising their First Amendment rights. “When you are in San Francisco, you are free to exercise your first amendment rights without intimidation or fear from those carrying concealed firearms,” Stefani said.

Stefani framed the measure as a response to recent protests and to a federal bill she said could expand concealed-carry permits across states. She cited a proposed demonstration at Crissy Field and national incidents including Charlottesville and Parkland to argue that the presence of concealed weapons can chill speech and increase the risk of violence. Allison Anderman of the Giffords Law Center urged supervisors to back the ordinance, saying that at rallies and demonstrations “guns in public, especially at large events, also present grave risks.”

During the hearing Stefani offered and the committee accepted an amendment to reduce the ordinance’s minimum-attendance threshold from 50 people to 20, broadening the kinds of events covered. The amendment was described on the record as a change to “section 3610, subsection C” of the Police Code and was accepted by the chair “without objection.” Several public speakers, including a Bernal Heights resident who said her son was killed by a stranger’s gun, and representatives of Moms Demand Action, testified in support.

The committee did not take a final vote on the ordinance. Members discussed scheduling and agreed to carry the item forward for further committee consideration; the clerk and members referenced the committee’s next meeting calendar during the session. The ordinance will return for additional committee review before heading to the full Board of Supervisors as part of the normal committee-to-board process.

The public record for the hearing includes the ordinance language as read into the record by the clerk and written amendments submitted by Supervisor Stefani; Deputy City Attorneys and outside counsel who assisted the supervisor were also identified on the record.