NRA declares “big win” in legal battle against San Francisco
The National Rifle Association declared victory in its legal battle against the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, who declared the group a “national terrorist organization,” after the city’s mayor announced that no municipality can stop businesses from working with them.
On Sept. 3, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors approved a three-page resolution, making the “terrorist organization” declaration. The resolution also called for vendors to re-evaluate their relationships with the NRA and “limit those entities … from doing business with this domestic terrorist organization,” according to documents published at the time by SFGate.com.
The NRA, in turn, filed suit on Sept. 9, accusing the city and county of San Francisco, along with 11 members of the board of supervisors, of violating its constitutional rights to free speech and free association as well as seeking to impose censorship. Unchecked, San Francisco’s measure would have a “chilling effect” on the organization and its members, the NRA said.
“The memo serves as a clear concession and a well-deserved win for the First and Second Amendments of the United States Constitution,” one of the organization’s attorneys, William A. Brewer III, said in a statement. “It is unfortunate that in today’s polarized times, some elected officials would rather silence opposing arguments than engage in good-faith debate.