San Francisco County Municipal Code Art. 36B Storage

Sec. 3600B. Findings. Sec. 3601B. Definitions. Sec. 3602B. Storage of Firearms in Motor Vehicles. Sec. 3603B. Penalty. Sec. 3604B. Promotion of General Welfare. Sec. 3605B. Severability.

Editor's Note: See also the following Police Code provisions: · Art. 9, Secs. 613 et seq., Miscellaneous Conduct Regulations (relating to firearms and ammunition). · Art. 14, Secs. 840 et seq., Miscellaneous Regulations for Professions and Trades (relating to carrying firearms). · Art. 35, Firearm Strict Liability Act. · Art. 36, Prohibiting the Carrying of a Firearm While under the Influence of an Alcoholic Beverage or Drug, or Possession of a Firearm While upon Public Premises Selling or Serving Alcoholic Beverages. · Art. 36A, Sale, Manufacture, and Distribution of Firearms and Ammunition; Possession of Handguns. · Art. 45, Firearms and Weapons Violence Prevention Ordinance.

SEC. 3600B. FINDINGS. (a) A report by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, found that 1.4 million firearms were stolen across the country from 2005 through 2010. This number represents an estimated average of 232,400 firearms stolen each year – about 172,000 stolen during burglaries and 60,300 stolen during other property crimes. The report also found that the vast majority – at least 80 percent – were never recovered. (b) Auto burglaries in dense urban areas are on the rise, and San Francisco has seen an absolute explosion of auto burglaries. According to the San Francisco Police Department's crime data, an alarming 47 percent spike in San Francisco car burglaries has occurred in the first half of this year. From the beginning of January through the end of June of 2015 there have been 11,917 reported vehicle burglaries in the City and County of San Francisco. That same number during the same time period escalated 62 percent from 2013. And it has skyrocketed to 171 percent from 2010, a year that saw 4,396 reported vehicle burglaries between January and the end of June. (c) Recently, auto burglaries in the San Francisco Bay Area have resulted in the theft of firearms from vehicles. In July, a San Francisco resident was killed by someone using a handgun stolen four days earlier from a federal agent's car in downtown San Francisco. In August, a firearm was stolen from the UC Berkeley Police Chief's vehicle at Point Isabel Regional Shoreline in Richmond, California. In October of 2015, a gun was stolen from a California Highway Patrol officer's vehicle in the South of Market area of San Francisco. In the same month, three individuals were charged with murdering a woman in Golden Gate Park and a second victim in Marin using a handgun stolen from a car at Fisherman's Wharf. In late October, police officials recovered two stolen guns from cars in the home of a suspected serial auto burglar.

(d) These recent auto burglaries resulting in the theft of firearms have been from unattended vehicles. The City and County of San Francisco finds that it has a strong local interest in preventing the theft of firearms from unattended vehicles and that requiring reasonable measures to secure firearms left in attended vehicles will reduce gun thefts and prevent guns from falling into the hands of criminals. (Added by Ord. 13-16, File No. 150973, App. 2/18/2016, Eff. 3/19/2016, Oper. 4/18/2016) SEC. 3601B. DEFINITIONS. " Firearm " means a Firearm as defined in California Penal Code section 12001, as amended from time to time. " Lock box " means a container that is listed on the California Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms roster of approved firearm safety devices. " Motor Vehicle " means a vehicle as defined in California Vehicle Code section 415, as amended from time to time. " Trunk " means a fully enclosed compartment that is separate from the main cabin of the Motor Vehicle. " Unattended " means that a person aged 18 or over is not present in the Motor Vehicle. (Added by Ord. 13-16, File No. 150973, App. 2/18/2016, Eff. 3/19/2016, Oper. 4/18/2016) SEC. 3602B. STORAGE OF FIREARMS IN MOTOR VEHICLES. (a) No person may place, store, or leave a Firearm in an unattended Motor Vehicle unless the Firearm is stored: (1) in a locked Trunk of a Motor Vehicle, provided that the automatic Trunk release in the main cabin of the Motor Vehicle is disabled; or (2) in a Lock Box that is permanently affixed to the Trunk of a Motor Vehicle, provided that the Lock Box is locked; or (3) for Motor Vehicles with four or more wheels and lacking a Trunk, in a Lock Box that is permanently affixed to the Motor Vehicle and underneath a seat, or covered, or otherwise outside the view of the public, provided that the Lock Box is locked; or (4) for Motor Vehicles with fewer than four wheels, in a Lock Box that is permanently affixed to the Motor Vehicle, provided that the Lock Box is locked. (b) Notwithstanding subsections (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(4) no person may place, store, or leave a Firearm overnight in an unattended Motor Vehicle. (c) This Article 36B is not intended to conflict with applicable State or federal law, if any. (d) This Article 36B is intended to apply to all Motor Vehicles within the City and County of San Francisco. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, nothing in this Article 36B shall apply to on-duty peace officers employed by jurisdictions other than the City and County of San Francisco or to federal officers or military personnel who are acting within the scope of their authority and discharging their official duties. Any peace officer employed by City and County of San Francisco is exempt from the requirements of this Article provided that the officer's employing department has a policy regulating the storage of firearms for both on and off duty conduct by the officer. (Added by Ord. 13-16, File No. 150973, App. 2/18/2016, Eff. 3/19/2016, Oper. 4/18/2016) SEC. 3603B. PENALTY. Every violation of Section 3602B shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $10,000 or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six months, or by both. (Added by Ord. 13-16, File No. 150973, App. 2/18/2016, Eff. 3/19/2016, Oper. 4/18/2016) SEC. 3604B. PROMOTION OF GENERAL WELFARE. In enacting and implementing Article 36B, the City is assuming an undertaking only to promote the general welfare. It is not assuming, nor is it imposing on its officers and employees, an obligation for breach of which it is liable in money damages to any person who claims that such breach proximately caused injury.

(Added by Ord. 13-16, File No. 150973, App. 2/18/2016, Eff. 3/19/2016, Oper. 4/18/2016) SEC. 3605B. SEVERABILITY. It is the intention of the City and County of San Francisco that all persons within San Francisco be subject to Article 36B while in San Francisco. This Article or portion thereof shall not apply to anyone subject to the criminal prosecution under state law for the same conduct. If a court determines that this Article or any portion thereof may not be applied to a particular class of persons, it is the intention of the City and County of San Francisco that applicability of the Article or portion thereof to those persons shall be severed from the remainder of this Article or other portions thereof, which shall continue to apply to other persons. (Added by Ord. 13-16, File No. 150973, App. 2/18/2016, Eff. 3/19/2016, Oper. 4/18/2016)