SAN FRANCISCO—During the Technology and Innovation Task Force of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 84th Winter Meeting in Washington D.C., SF Mayor Edward M. Lee issued an Executive Directive to make changes to the City’s purchasing protocol to prioritize the purchase of guns and ammunition from socially responsible manufacturers and distributors.

According to a press release from the Mayor’s Office, the Mayor’s decision will impact the City’s purchasing power and possibly impact that of other cities to support manufacturers and dealers that are already utilizing implemented industry best practices and asks others in the same industry to comply to adopt the highest level of responsibility and safety in producing and the sale of firearms and ammunition.

“President Obama’s actions on reducing gun violence will make our cities safer, with more background checks, increased access to mental health treatment to prevent violence and more investments in gun safety technology,” said Mayor Lee. “Senseless gun violence is occurring all too frequently, and we must do everything we can to reduce gun violence in our communities and ensure every resident is safe. Here in San Francisco, we are taking local action by leveraging our City’s purchasing power to tell the gun industry that safety is our number one priority and we only want to do business with those that understand this.”

Mayor Lee’s Executive Directive would force manufacturers to qualify as “socially responsible” by showing to the City proof of practices including:

  • The company’s standards and criteria for selecting dealers authorized to sell the company’s firearms;
  • Standards in terms of security;
  • Record keeping of inventory and transactions;
  • Employee training to detect “straw buyers”;
  • Cooperation with law enforcement;
  • Education of buyers on gun safety and storage; and
  • The company’s activities and goals with respect to gun safety and ammunition tracing technologies.

The Mayor has appointed the City’s Office of Contract Administration to reform the purchasing protocol to make it a top concern for industry best practices while maintaining the highest level of safety for residents and law enforcement personnel. The OCA will work along with the Mayor’s Office and other city departments to review the City’s past and present sources for firearms and ammunition to spot opportunities to implement more socially responsible procurement practices.

The aim of the directive is to allow leverage on San Francisco’s purchasing power to support those manufacturers and dealers who have already implemented industry best practices, and to encourage others to do the same. San Francisco will be working with the Bay Area region and other big cities to collaboratively develop internal guidelines and to use collective purchasing power to promote the best industry standards for the responsible manufacturing and sales of firearms and ammunition.