San Francisco's last gun store closing doors for good, The alone gun abundance in San Francisco is shuttering for good, adage it can no best accomplish in the city's political altitude of added gun ascendancy regulations and articulate action to its business.
"It's with amazing anguish and affliction that I accept to advertise we are closing our shop," High Bridge Arms administrator Steve Alcairo appear in a Facebook column on Sept. 11. "It has been a connected and difficult ride, but a abundant amusement to be your endure San Francisco gun shop."
Alcairo said the breaking point came this summer if a bounded baby-kisser proposed a law that would crave High Bridge Arms to video almanac every gun auction and abide a account address of armament sales to the police. If passed, the law would accompany several bounded gun ascendancy ordinances on the books in a city-limits still aching by the 1993 annihilation of eight in a city-limits high-rise and the 1978 assassination of Mayor George Moscone and gay rights activist Harvey Milk.
"I'm not accomplishing that to our customers. Abundant is enough," Alcairo said. "Buying a gun is a constitutionally adequate right. Our barter shouldn't be advised like they're accomplishing something wrong."
The advertisement prompted an access of accord and acrimony online from gun enthusiasts — and a abiding beck of barter acquisitive to yield advantage of going-out-of-business prices.
The new rifles lining the store's walls are bound dwindling, and the handguns in the bottle cases are traveling fast. So are T-shirts that avowal in English and Chinese that High Bridge is "The Endure San Francisco Gun Store."
For years, the High Bridge Arms asperous ascent restrictions imposed by bounded assembly and voters, who anesthetized a blaster ban in 2005 that a adjudicator afterwards addled down. The gun abundance more stood out in the gentrifying Bernal Heights adjacency of hot restaurants, contemporary confined and a chichi marijuana dispensary, while weathering organized campaigns calling for its closure.
High Bridge will abutting Oct. 31, Alcairo said.
Supervisor Mark Farrell said he alien the latest bill to advice badge action agitated abomination in the city. "Anything that makes San Francisco safer, I support," he said.
Farrell said the bill hasn't been voted on, and he doesn't accept why the abundance is closing now. He said it was "comical" that the High Bridge is blaming its cease on a proposed law still months abroad from demography effect.
Alcairo said account advantage of the bill's addition in July slowed sales appreciably because barter abominably believed their purchases would be recorded and affronted over to police. He said he had to lay off three clerks and that sales angled throughout the summer. The store's summer slump comes amidst an all-embracing gun sales billow in the state, according to California Administration of Justice statistics.
The California DOJ appear 931,000 accoutrements awash endure year— three times the amount awash in 2004 and the additional accomplished anniversary amount back the administration began befitting sales annal in 1991.
In the end, Alcairo said, he and the High Bridge Arms buyer annoyed of the connected action and mountains of paperwork appropriate by the San Francisco Badge Department, accompaniment Administration of Justice and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Alcairo grew up abreast the abundance and says he is affronted and aghast with San Francisco.
"This is the city-limits that dedicated gay alliance and fights for abhorred causes like medical marijuana," he said. "Where's my support?"
Champion pistol ballista Bob Chow opened the abundance in 1952, four years afterwards aggressive for the United States in the summer Olympics in London. Chow awash the abundance to Andy Takahashi in 1988. Chow died in 2003. Takahashi, who aswell owns the architecture that houses the store, beneath to comment.
Alcairo said the buyer shouldn't accept a botheration alluring addition blazon of business in economically booming San Francisco.
The arbitrary city-limits accoutrement admiring gun enthusiasts from about the world, abounding assuming in photos with Alcairo and his pistol-packing clerks. Alcairo said able athletes would appointment the abundance if arena in San Francisco for the change of affairs a weapon — and a T-shirt — from the city's endure gun store.
"High Bridge has consistently taken affliction of me," said Chris Cheng, a San Francisco citizen who calls it "my home store." Cheng won a $100,000 banknote cost and a able marksman arrangement afterwards acceptable the History Channel's "Top Shot" competition.
"It's consistently been a claiming for the abundance to do business in San Francisco," Cheng said.
"It's with amazing anguish and affliction that I accept to advertise we are closing our shop," High Bridge Arms administrator Steve Alcairo appear in a Facebook column on Sept. 11. "It has been a connected and difficult ride, but a abundant amusement to be your endure San Francisco gun shop."Alcairo said the breaking point came this summer if a bounded baby-kisser proposed a law that would crave High Bridge Arms to video almanac every gun auction and abide a account address of armament sales to the police. If passed, the law would accompany several bounded gun ascendancy ordinances on the books in a city-limits still aching by the 1993 annihilation of eight in a city-limits high-rise and the 1978 assassination of Mayor George Moscone and gay rights activist Harvey Milk.
"I'm not accomplishing that to our customers. Abundant is enough," Alcairo said. "Buying a gun is a constitutionally adequate right. Our barter shouldn't be advised like they're accomplishing something wrong."
The advertisement prompted an access of accord and acrimony online from gun enthusiasts — and a abiding beck of barter acquisitive to yield advantage of going-out-of-business prices.
The new rifles lining the store's walls are bound dwindling, and the handguns in the bottle cases are traveling fast. So are T-shirts that avowal in English and Chinese that High Bridge is "The Endure San Francisco Gun Store."
For years, the High Bridge Arms asperous ascent restrictions imposed by bounded assembly and voters, who anesthetized a blaster ban in 2005 that a adjudicator afterwards addled down. The gun abundance more stood out in the gentrifying Bernal Heights adjacency of hot restaurants, contemporary confined and a chichi marijuana dispensary, while weathering organized campaigns calling for its closure.
High Bridge will abutting Oct. 31, Alcairo said.
Supervisor Mark Farrell said he alien the latest bill to advice badge action agitated abomination in the city. "Anything that makes San Francisco safer, I support," he said.
Farrell said the bill hasn't been voted on, and he doesn't accept why the abundance is closing now. He said it was "comical" that the High Bridge is blaming its cease on a proposed law still months abroad from demography effect.
Alcairo said account advantage of the bill's addition in July slowed sales appreciably because barter abominably believed their purchases would be recorded and affronted over to police. He said he had to lay off three clerks and that sales angled throughout the summer. The store's summer slump comes amidst an all-embracing gun sales billow in the state, according to California Administration of Justice statistics.
The California DOJ appear 931,000 accoutrements awash endure year— three times the amount awash in 2004 and the additional accomplished anniversary amount back the administration began befitting sales annal in 1991.
In the end, Alcairo said, he and the High Bridge Arms buyer annoyed of the connected action and mountains of paperwork appropriate by the San Francisco Badge Department, accompaniment Administration of Justice and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Alcairo grew up abreast the abundance and says he is affronted and aghast with San Francisco.
"This is the city-limits that dedicated gay alliance and fights for abhorred causes like medical marijuana," he said. "Where's my support?"
Champion pistol ballista Bob Chow opened the abundance in 1952, four years afterwards aggressive for the United States in the summer Olympics in London. Chow awash the abundance to Andy Takahashi in 1988. Chow died in 2003. Takahashi, who aswell owns the architecture that houses the store, beneath to comment.
Alcairo said the buyer shouldn't accept a botheration alluring addition blazon of business in economically booming San Francisco.
The arbitrary city-limits accoutrement admiring gun enthusiasts from about the world, abounding assuming in photos with Alcairo and his pistol-packing clerks. Alcairo said able athletes would appointment the abundance if arena in San Francisco for the change of affairs a weapon — and a T-shirt — from the city's endure gun store.
"High Bridge has consistently taken affliction of me," said Chris Cheng, a San Francisco citizen who calls it "my home store." Cheng won a $100,000 banknote cost and a able marksman arrangement afterwards acceptable the History Channel's "Top Shot" competition.
"It's consistently been a claiming for the abundance to do business in San Francisco," Cheng said.
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