The National Rifle Association dropped a lawsuit Thursday against the city of San Francisco for passing a measure that labeled the group a “domestic terror organization.”
“We’re pleased the NRA backed down on its frivolous lawsuit. This was a baseless attempt to silence San Francisco’s valid criticisms of the NRA and distract from the gun violence epidemic facing our country,” San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in a written statement to KTVU.
The NRA sued the city after lawmakers passed a measure classifying the Second Amendment advocacy group as a “terrorist organization.”
The city’s board of supervisors said the NRA is causing “an epidemic of gun violence” by using “its considerable wealth and organization strength to promote gun ownership and incite gun owners to acts of violence.”
The NRA called the measure a “stunt” and sued the city a week later for free speech infringement, accusing city officials of trying to ice the NRA out of the city.
After San Francisco Mayor London Breed told city departments the following month to disregard the board’s terrorist designation, the NRA called it a “clear concession” and declared itself victorious.
NRA attorney William A. Brewer III said that despite its lawsuit withdrawal, the group believes this is a “victory.”
“Today the NRA withdrew its lawsuit in SF — and now celebrates the important victory it obtained on behalf of its members,” he said, according to KTVU. “As has been widely reported, after the Association challenged the unconstitutional resolution, the city beat a hasty retreat and backed down from its wildly illegal blacklisting scheme.
“The censors are on notice. The NRA will always fight for the Constitution, and will re-file if the city tries anything like this in the future,” he added.
Mr. Herrera said in his statement that “San Francisco will never be intimidated by the NRA.”
“If the NRA doesn’t want to be publicly condemned for its actions, it should stop sabotaging common-sense gun safety regulations that would protect untold numbers of Americans every year, like universal background checks, an assault weapons ban, and restrictions on high-capacity magazines,” Mr. Herrera wrote.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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