Judge allows Sunnyvale ban on large-capacity gun magazines

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(03-05) 14:07 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge on Wednesday allowed Sunnyvale to enforce a voter-approved ban on large-capacity gun magazines, saying it would have little impact on the constitutional right to possess firearms for self-defense. The ruling comes two weeks after another judge rejected gun advocates' attempt to block a similar law in San Francisco.
Although millions of Americans own guns with magazines carrying more than 10 cartridges, "it is rare that anyone will need to fire more than 10 rounds in self-defense," U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte of San Jose said in his ruling denying an injunction against the Sunnyvale ordinance, which is scheduled to take effect Thursday.
He cited a National Rifle Association report that found Americans who used their firearms to defend themselves fired an average of 2.1-2.2 shots.
Although opponents of the ordinance offered several anecdotes of residents who needed high-capacity weapons to protect themselves, Whyte said the "burden on Second Amendment rights ... is relatively light" and was far outweighed by the "compelling government interest in public safety" that the new law promotes.
The ban was part of Measure C, approved by 66 percent of Sunnyvale voters in November. C.D. Michel, an NRA lawyer who represented gun owners challenging the ordinance, said they were "disappointed but not surprised" by the ruling and would ask the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency stay "to protect the Second Amendment rights of Sunnyvale gun owners."
In response, Roderick Thompson, a lawyer for the city, said, "We're protecting the great majority of Sunnyvale citizens who believe that this ordinance protects public safety."
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that individuals have a constitutional right to possess handguns in their home for self-defense. But the court also said the federal, state and local governments could enforce reasonable gun-control laws, such as bans on possessing "dangerous or particularly dangerous weapons or carrying guns in sensitive areas.
Of the many lower courts that have considered challenges to gun laws since them, Whyte said, none has struck down a prohibition on large-capacity magazines.
California has banned the sale of magazines carrying more than 10 rounds of ammunition since 2000 but does not prohibit possession of weapons acquired legally before then.
San Francisco's ordinance, passed by the Board of Supervisors in November, requires owners of large-capacity gun magazines to surrender them to police by April 7.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup denied an injunction against the San Francisco law on Feb. 19, saying the measure would save far more lives than it put at risk. Alsup said the evidence - including the study cited by Whyte - showed that such weapons are used by mass killers, not by homeowners defending themselves.
Whyte was somewhat more receptive to the challengers' claims, agreeing with them that guns with large-capacity magazines are in common use and are therefore not particularly "dangerous and unusual," a category that the Supreme Court said could be prohibited. But he said the law's opponents had failed to show, at least so far, that it would substantially interfere with their right of self-defense.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: begelko@sfchronicle.com