- Five days after The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution formally declaring the National Rifle Association a "a domestic terrorist organization," the gun-rights group responded with a lawsuit.
- The lawsuit accuses the city of San Fransisco of violating the NRA's First Amendment right to freedom of speech by "discriminating" against their political viewpoint.
- In its original resolution which was filed one day after a mass shooting in Gilroy, California, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors accused the NRA of spreading propaganda fueling extremist viewpoints and helping to arm mass shooters.
- The resolution and lawsuit come less than six months after separate investigations were launched into the NRA by attorneys general in the District of Columbia and New York.
Less than one week has passed since the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution formally declaring the National Rifle Association a "domestic terrorist organization." Now, the NRA is suing the city.
The NRA's lawsuit accuses San Fransisco of attempting to "discriminate" against the NRA "based on the viewpoint of their political speech." By dissuading local businesses from working with the NRA, the gun-rights group claims the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is violating their First Amendment right of freedom of speech.
Read more: San Francisco passes a resolution declaring the NRA a domestic terror organization
Filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit simultaneously called the domestic terrorist labeling, "a frivolous insult," and "a nonfrivolous constitutional threat."
Before the NRA filed its lawsuit, a spokesperson for the organization had attempted to diminish the terrorist labeling, describing it in a statement to The New York Times as a "sound-bite remedy."
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors accused the NRA of spreading propaganda and helping arm mass shooters.
The "domestic terrorist" labeling was ushered in by San Francisco board supervisor Catherine Stefani on July 30, in the wake of a mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival that left four people dead.
The board's resolution accused the NRA of, "muster[ing] its considerable wealth and organizational strength to promote gun ownership and incite gun owners to acts of violence." The resolution also accused the NRA of spreading pro-gun propaganda, promoting extremist views, and helping arm mass shooters.
"All countries have violent and hateful people, but only in America do we give them ready access to assault weapons and large-capacity magazines thanks, in large part, to the National Rifle Association's influence," the resolution read.
The resolution urged other cities to follow San Francisco's lead with the domestic terrorist labeling.
In the lawsuit, the NRA attempts to draw a line between the San Francisco labeling and previous attempts by lawmakers in Los Angeles and New York to dissuade businesses from working with the organization.
Within the past six months, attorneys general for the District of Columbia and New York have issued subpoenas and launched investigations into the NRA. In an interview with Ebony magazine last year, New York's attorney general, Letitia James, accused the NRA of calling itself a charitable organization while being, "in fact, a terrorist organization."
- Read more:
- San Francisco passes a resolution declaring the NRA a domestic terror organization
- Trump says NRA 'under siege' by New York investigation
- Trump is reportedly feuding with the NRA after leaks about his calls with Wayne LaPierre