The last gun shop in San Francisco is closing its doors next month.
The owners of High Bridge Arms made the announcement on Facebook, but did not offer an explanation as to why they were closing the store.
“For many reasons I cannot get into at this moment, it appears our final days will be through to the end of October of 2015,” the post said. “We will clearance out whatever inventory we have in the shop and offer sale prices for anything you would like us to order. This is not a joke."
Attempts to reach High Bridge Arms for comment were not immediately successful,
The store has been at its 3185 Mission Street location since the mid-1950s, when Olympic shooter and gunsmith Bob Chow opened the shop, the website says. Andy Takahashi bought the business from Chow In 1988, and began exporting firearms in 1993. The site says that the store exports firearms to several countries.
High Bridge Arms has a 4.5 star-rating on Yelp, with many customers giving it a favorable review.
However, the store’s farewell post on Facebook warned: “For any of you Vultures, (you know who you are) please don't bother us. For if you do, I give you my solemn promise that we will make it a very unpleasant experience for you. For all our true friends and followers, I would like to sincerely thank you for all your support, likes, positive feedback and best of all, your friendship. Hopefully, we'll see you soon. It has been a long and difficult ride, but a great pleasure to be your last San Francisco Gun shop.”
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The news has upset the store’s regular customers, including Chris Chen, who runs the blog Top Shot Chris.
“It's no secret that San Francisco has many anti-gun politicians in the mayor's office, the Board of Supervisors, and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi represents the city as well," Chen wrote. "While there has been no official comment from High Bridge Arms as to why they are closing, we can speculate that years of political pressure, an anti-gun climate in San Francisco, and anti-gun legislation and laws created a super storm making it challenging to run a gun shop in city limits.”
The San Francisco Board of Supervisor’s is currently considering whether firearms dealers should be required to videotape all gun and ammunition sales and share data on ammunition sales with the San Francisco Police Department.
Current law requires ammunition sale records only for those who buy them in large quantities.
"Easy access to firearms continues to be a contributing factor to senseless violence, not only in San Francisco but across the country," San Francisco Supervisor Mark Farrell, who introduced the ordinance, said at a September Board of Supervisors meeting. "There continues to be more we can do."
San Francisco's last gun shop is closing http://t.co/cMvXKAeyTQ #2A — NRA (@NRA) September 22, 2015
