San Francisco City Supervisors sent out a beacon this week alerting criminals all over the world that by January 2006 the people of San Francisco will, undoubetdly, have voluntarily disarmed themselves making the city an easy target for violent crime. A measure to ban the sale, ownership, and possession of handguns and ammunition will be placed on the San Francisco ballot in November 2005, thanks to the efforts of City Supervisors Chris Daly, Michela Alioto-Pier, Tom Ammiano, Bevan Dufty and Matt Gonzalez.

The fact that the measure is blatantly un-Constitutional and, therefore, illegal, is not necessarily a deterrent to San Francisco city voters who have a track record of thumbing their collective noses at anything that resembles the building blocks of this great nation. What is surprising, however, is the total lack of foresight that an action of this kind would have on a city of such diversity during a time of war.

In addition to sourdough bread and the Golden Gate bridge, San Francisco is best known for its wide acceptance of open homosexuality and legalized marijuana use - behavior not likely to be endorsed by al Qaeda, despite resident opposition to the war on terror.Violent drug cartels, whose far-reaching networks manifest themselves as local gangs, will not be deterred by the City's ban on handguns but may see the ban as an opportunity to expand illegal gun trafficking in the area as criminals increasingly view San Francisco as the land of opportunity. We know from recent news reports that foreign gangs, operating within the U.S., have had contact with and in some ways assisted al Qaeda terrorists in entering the United States. It is unclear, at this time, how far the gangs are willing to assist al Qaeda in carrying out its plans to attack the people of country.

By suggesting a ban on handguns as a solution to the increasing murder rate, the City Supervisors imply that all murders are caused by handguns. However, the City has failed to provide any evidence to support this theory. Certainly Diane Whipple, who was mauled to death by her neighbor's dogs, could be alive today if she had ready access to a handgun. There is no telling how many other victims might be alive today if only they had adequate means to self defense.

Additional violent crime such as forcible rapes and aggravated assaults are likely to increase as a result of voluntary disarmament by the people of San Francisco. In fact, the city will surely see a dramatic increase in all crime, mirroring that of Washington D.C. and London, where criminals run amok and honest citizens are left to defend themselves in court for the crime of defending themselves in the home. The once beautiful City by the Sea will be reduced to a place where the strong prey on the defenseless. A place where the voluntarily disarmed can be what they've always claimed to be - victims.

Jennifer Freeman is Executive Director and co-founder of Liberty Belles, a grass-roots organization dedicated to restoring and preserving the Second Amendment.
http://www.libertybelles.org
jennifer@libertybelles.org