Currently Article 25 prohibits any armed guard from drawing or exhibiting other than in a holster any handgun except in lawful response to an actual and specific threat to person and/or property. It also prohibits any person corporation partnership or association which employs or utilizes armed guards to require, allow, or permit any such guard to draw or exhibit other than in a holster any handgun except in lawful response to an actual and specific threat to person and/or property.

The amendments would delete all references to property from the current law and update all references from 'handgun' to 'firearm'.

The ordinance is intended to prevent future deaths by amending the Police Code to prohibit armed guards from drawing or exhibiting firearms other than in a holster to protect property, and it encourages local government, the San Francisco Police Department, and security companies to collaborate with the community to search for new strategies that address the root causes of crime without high risk of death.

Prohibiting security guards from drawing firearms in the protection of property places the value of human lives above the property of businesses, especially multi-billion dollar ones. It also aligns with international standards asserting that firearms should only be used by law enforcement in self-defense or against the imminent threat of death or serious injury, and private security guards are not law enforcement and should not be put at high risk.

The ordinance shall become effective 30 days after enactment, which occurs when the Mayor signs the ordinance, the Mayor returns the ordinance unsigned, does not sign the ordinance within ten days of receiving it, or the Board of Supervisors overrides the Mayor’s veto of the ordinance.

Implementing this ordinance can lead to re-thinking the meaning of public safety and finding new ways to tackle crime and its roots in the community, promoting human life above private profits.