A federal court ordered Los Angeles to hand over more than $100,000 to the National Rifle Association after ruling that the city had violated the gun-rights group's First Amendment rights.
Federal district court judge Stephen Wilson struck down a city ordinance aimed at punishing prospective contractors with ties to the NRA as an infringement on the right to free speech and association.
On Tuesday, he ordered city officials to pay for the Second Amendment group's attorney fees, which totaled nearly $150,000.
The NRA filed suit against the ordinance shortly after it was implemented in April 2019.
The ruling may put a damper on enthusiasm for similar measures from other government officials opposed to the NRA. Los Angeles Ordinance No. 186000 took effect on April 1, 2019, and explicitly stated it was intended to prevent the city from doing business with anyone who had ties to the NRA. "The City of Los Angeles has enacted ordinances and adopted positions that promote gun safety and sensible gun ownership," the ordinance reads.
In interviews with NPR, Garcetti said he had confidence in the policy while O'Farrell charged that "The NRA's First Amendment rights remain firmly in place."
Judge Wilson disagreed, saying, "The City adopted the Ordinance 'because of disagreement with the message' of the NRA and with the explicit intent to suppress that message-the Ordinance should therefore be considered a content-based regulation of speech." The city agreed in February to repeal the ordinance, stop any enforcement of it, and notify contractors they do not have to disclose ties to the NRA..
Saturday, February 27, 2021
L.A. Ordered to Pay NRA Six Figures After Losing First Amendment Case
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