S.F. supervisor widens proposal on locking guns left in vehicles

Ashok Karki, Anju Paudel and Apar Karki pass by the Pier 14 memorial for Kathryn Steinle who was fatally shot on July 1 as she walked along the pier with her family. Ashok Karki, Anju Paudel and Apar Karki pass by the Pier 14 memorial for Kathryn Steinle who was fatally shot on July 1 as she walked along the pier with her family. Photo: Cameron Robert, The Chronicle Photo: Cameron Robert, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close S.F. supervisor widens proposal on locking guns left in vehicles 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Both regular citizens and law enforcement officers who carry guns in their cars would have to keep the weapons in lock boxes or in the trunk when they park their vehicles in San Francisco, under a proposal being introduced Thursday by Supervisor David Campos.

The legislation follows a string of high-profile gun thefts from cars around the Bay Area, most famously the June 27 theft of a firearm from the personal car of a federal Bureau of Land Management ranger in San Francisco. The gun allegedly was used four days later by an immigrant without legal standing in the fatal shooting of Kathryn Steinle as she walked on Pier 14.

Campos and several fellow supervisors said at the time that San Francisco’s sanctuary city laws were not to blame for the tragedy, that the real issue was the proliferation of easily accessible guns.

In September, Campos introduced legislation requiring off-duty local law enforcement officers to secure their guns in lock boxes or locked trunks when they park their cars. The policy was already in place for on-duty officers.

On Thursday, Campos will introduce amendments to his legislation at the Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee meeting that would broaden the rule to any person who has a gun in a car in San Francisco.

Guns must be locked up

Anyone who leaves a gun in a parked car would have to place it in a lock box or locked in the trunk. Failing to do so would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail or a $10,000 fine.

“This is one of those things where it seems like a no-brainer,” Campos said. “We’ve seen a number of incidents where firearms are ending up in the wrong hands because people aren’t storing them properly when they leave them in their vehicles. That’s a real problem.”

Campos’ office worked with Allison Anderman of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence to craft the legislation. She said more than 10,000 guns were stolen in California in 2012 and that many are likely sold on the black market and used to commit crimes.

She said Campos’ proposal may seem obvious, but she believes it would make San Francisco the first city in California to adopt such a law. She said there are federal and state laws regarding how guns are transported in vehicles, but very few about their safe storage in parked cars.

“There is a gap in addressing how people store a gun in an unattended vehicle,” she said. “That’s why it’s so important that local and state lawmakers make it perfectly clear to gun owners of what they must do when leaving their guns in their cars.”

Police Chief Greg Suhr supports Campos’ legislation, and last month issued a bulletin to his department spelling out in detail how all officers must secure their firearms safely.

The SFPD wasn’t able to provide statistics immediately on how many guns are stolen in the city each year — or, more specifically, how many are taken from cars. But the department is struggling with a huge uptick in car burglaries in general.

Car break-ins spike

In the first six months of 2015, there were a reported 11,917 car break-ins in the city — a 47 percent spike from the same time period the year before. The real number of break-ins is likely higher because many frustrated car owners don’t bother reporting the crime.

Several high-profile gun thefts from cars have taken place in the Bay Area in recent months, including one from UC Berkeley Police Chief Margo Bennett’s car on Aug. 21 as she jogged at a park in Richmond.

Later in August, a Hayward police officer had his pistol stolen from a parked car in Oakland. Last month, a gun belonging to an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer was stolen from his personal car in the South of Market neighborhood.

A gun allegedly used by three drifters in early October to kill a backpacker in Golden Gate Park and a massage therapist on a Marin hiking trail was stolen from an unlocked car parked near Fisherman’s Wharf.

Campos’ legislation is one of three laws in a package dubbed “Solutions, not Scapegoating” that was introduced by progressive supervisors after the Steinle killing.

In addition to Campos’ gun legislation, the package includes a resolution to stop “needless” transfers of people from other jurisdictions’ custody. It is due to be discussed in committee early next month.

Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, who is charged in Steinle’s killing, was transferred to San Francisco at the Sheriff’s Department’s request from a federal lockup in Victorville (San Bernardino County) on a 20-year-old warrant for a $20 marijuana deal. He was eventually released by Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi.

A third piece of the package has already passed the Board of Supervisors and calls for the sheriff not to comply with the federal Priority Enforcement Program, which asks that law enforcement officers notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement before releasing immigrants who are in the country illegally.

NRA may push back

Campos said the guns-in-cars legislation is not intended to shift attention away from the issue of illegal immigration and San Francisco’s sanctuary city policy, which limits enforcement of federal immigration laws. It’s also not meant as a slap at gun rights enthusiasts, he said, though he added he wouldn’t be surprised if the National Rifle Association pushes back.

“If we’ve learned anything about the gun lobby in this country, it’s how extreme it is,” he said. “Even something that’s modest and common sense is likely to be opposed.”

Heather Knight is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hknight@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @hknightsf