Los Angeles city council passes ordinance requiring contractors to disclose ties with

In a unanimous decision, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday passed an ordinance that requires companies who do work with the city to disclose if they have any ties to the National Rifle Association.


The ordinance – which follows similar ones passed by the council requiring contractors to disclose any involvement in the construction of President Trump’s proposed border wall and any past investments in or profits from slavery – has already drawn protests from gun rights activists and threats of a lawsuit.


“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 told the Los Angeles Times. “This is modern day McCarthyism, and my clients are confident no judge will let it stand.”


According to a letter sent earlier this month to the city, the NRA plans to file suit against the city – arguing that the ordinance violates the First Amendment and is “an unconstitutional effort to restrict and chill an individual’s right to associate and express their political beliefs.”


The law does offer a number of exemptions, such as ones relating to the city’s pension funds and other investment agreements.

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"Stupid is, as stupid does."

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Not_an_outlaw said:

I guess since they have an unlimited budget, they can bankrupt the NRA. Even is the NRA wins hundreds of these cases, I bet the attorney's fees paid by the loser in a 1983 Biven case won't be enough to keep them whole.

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DanGuy48 said:

Tell us your political leanings so that we can discriminate against you, bigots that we are.

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DanGuy48 said:

Tell us your political leanings so that we can discriminate against you, bigots that we are.

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motorcoachdoug said:

Yep build the wall between Oregon,CA and AZ/CA. Let them revert back to Mexico and have fun.....

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Citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette and other cases, the NRA claims governments can’t prescribe what is orthodox in politics or compel contractors to hold certain views in exchange for doing business with the city. Furthermore, the group says the ordinance amounts to compelled speech and a violation of their free-speech rights.

“Government-compelled speech is presumptively unconstitutional when it burdens speech by demanding that speakers disclose that which they might be reluctant to disclose, thus deterring them from engaging in speech,” the NRA says in its complaint.

The group accuses the city of viewing the NRA with “disdain” and says the city wants to pressure NRA members to sever their political and financial ties to the organization.

“Should defendants succeed in cutting off revenue streams necessary for NRA to continue engaging in protected speech and association, NRA will have been drained of its financial resources and been harmed in its ability to fulfill its mission to protect and preserve the right to keep and bear arms,” the NRA says in its complaint.

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Doctor_M said:

While I agree that the intent of this law is odious... political leanings are not a protected class. Just think of how badly abused a formal protection for political leanings could be.... call someone a "libtard", go to jail for a hate crime. We all know such protections would only flow one way.

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