Politics & Government
LA Backs Off Controversial NRA Law
After a legal challenge by the NRA, the LA City Council voted to repeal a law that would have required contractors to disclose NRA ties.
LOS ANGELES, CA — One month after a federal judge barred the city from enforcing an ordinance requiring contractors to disclose ties they may have to the National Rifle Association, the City Council voted Tuesday to repeal the law.
The City Council voted unanimously, 10-0, to repeal the law with no public discussion, although the council did discuss the issue in closed session.
Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell said last month his office was researching what legal action the city might take to defend a law he championed.
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"Our initiative provides transparency and allows the taxpayer to know how and where their monies are being spent," O'Farrell said at the time. "My office is consulting with the City Attorney on next steps."
Calls to the City Attorney's Office were not immediately returned.
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On its website, NRA Institute of Legislative Action officials hailed the repeal of the ordinance.
"Facing a trial where they'll have to account for the unconstitutional ordinance, city officials are trying to mitigate the consequences of their illegal misbehavior," said Chuck Michel, California legal counsel to the NRA. "This is another decisive victory for the NRA, which stood and fought for its members' rights."
The law, approved by the council in February 2019, required prospective city contractors to disclose under affidavit any contracts or sponsorships they or their subsidiaries have with the NRA.
Pointing to a rash of mass shootings, O'Farrell last year defended the measure, telling reporters the NRA has "been a road block to gun safety reform at every level of government now for several decades."
In his December ruling blocking the ordinance, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson wrote that "even though the ordinance only forces disclosure of activity that may not be expressive, the clear purpose of the disclosure is to undermine the NRA's explicitly political speech."
The disclosure law contained more than a dozen exemptions, including contracts involving the city's pension funds and other investment agreements.
City News Service
