San Francisco's Only Gun Shop Could Lose Permit Today

High Bridge Arms

Is this an endangered sight in the Mission?

​High Bridge Arms, the only gun shop in all San Francisco, may find itself outgunned at a police hearing today to reinstate its permit to deal firearms -- proving there are small, family-owned businesses San Franciscans would rather not have in their neighborhoods.

The store has been in the Mission for more than five decades. But, much as Rudy Giuliani hounded the longstanding porn-o-ramas out of Times Square, critics of the Mission Street shop say it no longer fits the neighborhood.

Those seeking guns may be forced to head 3.8 miles down the road to the Cow Palace for the massive annual gun show. Or to gun shops outside the city in neighboring counties.

But, as my colleague Benjamin Wachs wrote about a few years back, there are other ways to legally obtain a gun in San Francisco (sort of):

In all, there are six federal gun licenses in the city that include the ability to sell, according to the city-based Legal Community Against Violence. High Bridge only has one of them.

Two others are for auction houses, one of which occasionally sells antique firearms, the other of which specializes in antique weapons and armor. Another is for an engineering service "specializing in injury biomechanics, accident reconstruction, and failure analysis of mechanical systems."

The fifth is for the assistant prop master at the San Francisco Opera. "For the most part, all we ever use are blank guns, but we do have a license to use the real thing," an opera employee said. "In order to be able to use anything, even if we're not loading it, we need to be able to follow the law."

Okay, but, I'm watching you..

The sixth identifies itself ... very cautiously ... as "Alfred's Gunsmith Service" which appears (based on scant evidence) to be a home businesses selling and repairing guns that is ... so far ... under the city's radar. They don't like to talk to strangers ("Who are you?" said the lady picking up the phone) but if you know Alfred you might be in luck.

Update, 5:55 p.m.: High Bridge Arms' permit was reinstated and the store will reopen.

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