<p class="p2"><span class="s1">The National Rifle Association filed a lawsuit against the City of San Francisco this week after its Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to label the group a “domestic terrorist organization.”</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span class="s1">The decision comes after a series of deadly shootings in Texas and Ohio that weren&#8217;t linked to the NRA and hours after Walmart announced it would no longer sell short-barrel rifle and handgun ammunition in any of its stores.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span class="s1">In its resolution, San Francisco officials accuse the NRA of using its “wealth and organizational strength” to “incite gun owners to acts of violence” and to “arm those individuals who would and have committed acts of terrorism.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The document also asks the city and county to “take every reasonable step to assess the financial and contractual relationships our vendors and contractors have with this domestic terrorist organization” and urges other jurisdictions to do the same. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>This sounds like the city plans to reject bids for business from persons or groups who support the NRA (and that has to be illegal).</b></span></p>
<p class="p4"><span class="s1">The NRA described San Francisco’s decision as a “ludicrous stunt” that distracts “from the real problems facing San Francisco,” such as “rampant homelessness, drug abuse, and skyrocketing petty crime. “The NRA will continue working to protect the constitutional rights of all freedom-loving Americans,&#8221; said the group. </span></p>
<p class="p4"><span class="s1">In its lawsuit, the NRA portrays the board&#8217;s resolution as a violation of its free speech rights and accuses city officials of trying to blacklist any person or organization associated with the NRA from doing business in San Francisco.</span></p>
<p class="p4"><span class="s1"><strong>Author’s Note:</strong> Cities and states should not be engaged in labeling organizations anything, much less calling them terrorists.</span></p>
<p class="p4"><span class="s1">The <em>First Amendment</em> means you can say anything you want, but it doesn’t mean a city can silence or punish a group with which it disagrees. The NRA has every right to defend itself. </span></p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s Note:</strong> This is not a simple slander where someone blurts something out to the news. This was a city&#8217;s government declaring that an organization is a terrorist group, by vote and by public proclamation, together with the city urging people to not do business with them. There is no way San Francisco will get away with this, the NRA should be able to get massive damages paid to them.</p>