NRA center of controversy
Following the devastating mass shootings in El Paso, Odessa, Midland, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, the city of San Francisco declared the National Rifle Association a “domestic terrorist organization.” The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution that labeled the NRA as a lobbyist group that spreads propaganda that seeks to mislead the public about the dangers of gun violence. In fact, the Board of Supervisors went as far as stating that the NRA is responsible for inciting gun-violence around the country.
However, this hyper-progressive resolution was met with immediate blowback. The gun-control debate has been an everlasting point of contention between conservative and progressive legislators. San Francisco’s newly passed resolution has only intensified the exchange. The city of San Francisco has been rigorously scrutinized by pro-gun lawmakers on Capitol Hill for diminishing the conservative narrative in the gun debate. This assertion was corroborated by the NRA as they have now filed a lawsuit in U.S District Court for Northern California against the city. The NRA is accusing the city of violating the group’s free speech rights through a process of blacklisting anyone associated with the NRA.
In a statement regarding the pending litigation, William A. Brewer III, the NRA’s attorney, stated that “this action is an assault on all advocacy organizations across the country” and “there can be no place in our society for this manner of behavior by government officials. Fortunately, the NRA, like all U.S citizens, are protected by the First Amendment.” In response to the lawsuit, San Francisco Supervisor, Catherine Stefani, stated that she drafted the resolution because “they [the NRA] continue to stand in the way of gun violence reform and people are dying because of it.”
Even though Stefani’s convictions to eradicate gun-violence is a charitable expectation for society, the means in which she has employed will not likely fare well in court. Silencing the other half of the conversation in an attempt to produce political victories contradicts the democratic stitches that sow together our political and social fabric. In a free-thinking society, all opinions have the right to be expressed without being curtailed by those who disagree.
Matthew Datlof - Contributing Writer