The Los Angeles City Council voted yesterday to require companies who want to contract with the city to disclose their relationships with the National Rifle Association.
Prospective contractors now must disclose under affidavit any contracts or sponsorships they or their subsidiaries have with the NRA. The city has similar policies about companies involved in the construction of President Trump’s proposed border wall and over the historic investment in or profits from slavery.
The ordinance on the NRA was sought by Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who cited several recent mass shootings in the U.S. At Tuesday’s meeting, he said the NRA has “been a road block to gun safety reform at every level of government now for several decades.”
Several gun safety groups who support the NRA ordinance gathered with O’Farrell outside City Hall before the vote.
This is a scary path we are walking down. The NRA is going to fight the ordinance.
The NRA disclosure law contains more than a dozen exemptions, including contracts involving the city’s pension funds and other investment agreements.
Still, attorneys for the NRA said they would file a lawsuit if the ordinance passed, according to a Feb. 4 letter sent to the city. In the letter, the NRA said the law violates the 1st Amendment and is “an unconstitutional effort to restrict and chill an individual’s right to associate and express their political beliefs.”
“Politicians are free to disagree with the NRA’s pro-freedom, firearm safety, and self-reliance message, but they aren’t free to censor it — as this would do when NRA supporters drop their NRA memberships for fear of losing their livelihood from being on this blacklist,” NRA attorney Chuck Michel said. “This is modern day McCarthyism, and my clients are confident no judge will let it stand.”
The Los Angeles city attorney said they city is “on firm legal ground.” Interesting.
From my buddy Cam:
Los Angeles has a law forbidding employers from asking a prospective employee about any criminal history, but will now demand to know if any potential contractors are card-carrying NRA members. https://t.co/4fsJ2QJqe1
— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) February 13, 2019
What other things should the government be able to do, if the elected officials and bureaucracy do not approve of your political beliefs and life choices? Should you be denied a driver’s license? Utilities for your house? Medical care? Denied entry to a grocery store for food?
Are these things all “okay” now?
Join the conversation as a VIP Member