LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council is repealing a law requiring companies that want city contracts to disclose whether they have ties to the National Rifle Association, weeks after a federal judge blocked the city from enforcing the ordinance.
Council members voted 12-0 without discussion Tuesday to roll back the law, which was passed last year. It required firms seeking deals with the city to disclose contracts or sponsorships between them or their subsidiaries and the NRA.
“Facing a trial where they’ll have to account for the unconstitutional ordinance, city officials are now trying to mitigate the consequences of their illegal misbehavior.” — Chuck Michel, a lawyer for the NRA
Councilman Mitch O’Farrell pushed for the rules following a spate of U.S. mass shootings, including a November 2018 attack that killed 12 people at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California. He said at the time that the NRA had been a “roadblock to gun safety reform” for decades.
The NRA Said the Requirements Violated the First Amendment
In a lawsuit seeking to block the ordinance, the NRA said the requirements violated the constitutional First Amendment right to free speech and association and the 14th Amendment right to equal protection.
In December, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson issued a preliminary injunction preventing the law from being enforced.
Chuck Michel, a lawyer for the gun rights group, called the repeal a “decisive victory” for the NRA.
“Facing a trial where they’ll have to account for the unconstitutional ordinance, city officials are now trying to mitigate the consequences of their illegal misbehavior,” Michel said in a statement Tuesday.
Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for City Attorney Mike Feuer, said in a statement that the the reason Los Angeles was repealing the law “pertains to litigation.” He said he could not provide additional details.
Supporters of the law maintained Los Angeles shouldn’t give public funds to NRA-linked contractors while the city tries to promote gun safety.
