Any company looking to do business with the City of Los Angeles will soon need to reveal any ties it has with the National Rifle Association (NRA) after the Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed an ordinance Tuesday.
Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell introduced the bill and cited the rash of mass shootings across the United States in recent years, and his peers overwhelmingly passed it with a 14-0 vote, the Los Angeles Times reported. Council member Jose Huizar was absent.
At the meeting, O'Farrell said the NRA has "been a roadblock to gun safety reform at every level of government now for several decades."
The NRA disclosure law has a few exemptions, like investment agreements and any contracts regarding city pension funds.
Prior to Tuesday's meeting, gun control groups and advocates that supported the new law met with O'Farrell, and they expressed their willingness to know who's doing business with the city and the NRA alike.
"Let's take a look at who we're doing businesses with who is doing business with the NRA," Women Against Gun Violence director Margot Bennett said in The Times.
The NRA has already begun challenging the law, even stating this "blacklist" wouldn't hold up in court.
"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 Times. "This is modern day McCarthyism, and my clients are confident no judge will let it stand."
Last week the NRA stated in a letter it would file a lawsuit against the city if the ordinance passed. The NRA called the law a violation of the country's First Amendment, saying it's "an unconstitutional effort to restrict and chill an individual's right to associate and express their political beliefs."
However, O'Farrell said during the meeting Tuesday that Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer's office instructed the council is "on firm legal ground" with their new law.
The law wasn't fully backed by the community, though. The Studio City Neighborhood Council said singling out one group like the NRA "smacks of politics, makes little sense and could result in unwanted legal costs."
Los Angeles already has certain gun control measures in place, including residents to lock up their handguns at home if the residents are not there.
