Last gun store in San Francisco to close

October 5, 2015

The last gun store remaining in San Francisco will close its doors on Halloween.

High Bridge Arms has operated in San Francisco since 1952. Store manager Steve Alcairo said High Bridge Arms will close permanently on Oct. 31 due to the city’s increasing amount of gun control and vocal opposition to the business.

Alcairo said the breaking point occurred when a San Francisco supervisor proposed an ordinance that would require the store to video record every gun sale and submit a weekly report on ammunition sales to law enforcement. News coverage of the introduction of the ordinance in July slowed sales because customers wrongly believed their purchases would be recorded and video would be turned over to police, Alcairo said.

High Bridge had to lay off three clerks because of the decline in sales, Alcairo said.

Supervisor Mark Farrell, who introduced the ordinance, said he does not understand why the gun store is closing. The ordinance has not been voted on, and it is comical that High Bridge is blaming its closure on a regulation that is months away from taking effect, Farrell said.

Alcairo said, in the end, he and the owner of the store are tired of continued opposition and mountains of paperwork required by San Francisco police, the state Department of Justice and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Gun enthusiasts have come from all over the world to buy firearms at the San Francisco store and to pose in photos with Alcairo and pistol-packing clerks. Professional athletes would also visit the store when playing in San Francisco to buy a weapon and a t-shirt saying “The Last San Francisco Gun Store,” Alcairo said.

In San Luis Obispo County, a gun store is also going out of business. Atascadero Firearms, which is located on Morro Road, has a sign on the door saying it is closing.