Gun Control Groups Open S.F. Offices

Two gun control organizations have opened an office in the downtown skyscraper where a heavily armed gunman shot eight people to death and killed himself earlier this year.

The opening of offices at 101 California by Handgun Control Inc. and the Legal Community Against Violence was a “sign of hope to California and this country,” said Stephen Sposato, whose wife, Jody, died in the rampage.

The latter organization was established after the slaying, in which three lawyers and a law student were killed. It is dedicated to ending the public sale of military-style ammunition, assault weapons and large-capacity magazines.

Gian Luigi Ferri, a disgruntled client of a law firm located in the skyscraper, was armed with two 9-millimeter pistols capable of firing more than 50 times before reloading, a .45-caliber handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. All had been legally purchased in Nevada.