San Francisco Update A lawsuit challenging San Francisco’s gun ban will first need to be heard by a trial court, the California Court of Appeals has ruled. The National Rifle Association, along with the California Association of Firearms Retailers and others, filed the suit in November after the city voted to ban the possession of handguns and the sale and manufacture of firearms within city and county limits. The lawsuit says the ban—Proposition H—clearly violates state laws and also violates the state and federal guarantees of equal protection.