The National Rifle Association is now a domestic terrorist organization, according to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
The resolution, which claims the NRA incites violence and through its advocacy has armed other domestic terrorists, was passed with a unanimous vote by the San Francisco Board of Directors.
The resolution, introduced by Supervisor Catherine Stefani, also calls on the city to review financial and contractual ties to vendors and contractors for the city who have ties to the NRA, and to take action to limit or cut ties between the city and those businesses.
“The National Rifle Association musters its considerable wealth and organizational strength to promote gun ownership and incite gun owners to acts of violence,” the resolution reads.
The resolution also says the NRA “spreads propaganda that misinforms and aims to deceive the public about the dangers of gun violence,” and the NRA’s leaders promote extremist positions.
“When they use phrases like, ‘I’ll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands’ on bumper stickers, they are saying reasoned debate about public safety should be met with violence,” Stefani said in a statement reported by local radio station KQED.
The resolution describes the U.S. as “plagued by an epidemic of gun violence” and says approximately 100 people are killed every day by guns, though no source for the figure is stated in the resolution.
“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 says.
Gun laws in the U.S. do not discriminate against “hateful people,” but federal law does bar convicted felons from owning firearms.
The resolution goes on to cite the July 28 shooting in Gilroy, Calif., as a specific example of gun violence though it is not clear from the resolution if the suspect had any membership with the NRA.
“Our elected representatives, including the President, have taken an oath swearing to ‘support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,'” the resolution states.
The resolution ends with a call on other cities and states, and the federal government, to adopt similar language designating the NRA as a terrorist organization.
“This ludicrous stunt by the Board of Supervisors is an effort to distract from the real problems facing San Francisco, such as rampant homelessness, drug abuse and skyrocketing petty crime, to name a few,” NRA spokeswoman said in another statement reported by KQED. “The board is wasting taxpayer dollars to declare five million law-abiding Americans domestic terrorists, and it’s shameful.”
This is a reckless assault on a law-abiding organization, it’s members, and the freedoms they all stand for. We remain undeterred – guided by our values and belief in those who want to find real solutions to violence. https://t.co/KlRretjxAe
— NRA (@NRA) September 4, 2019
Though the bill does call for the review of the city’s contracts, it does not introduce any additional regulations or tools for law enforcement.
