By Dave Workman | Senior Editor
Wayne LaPierre
In what Fox News called “the latest escalation in the heated rhetoric from Democrats,” the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution declaring the National Rifle Association a “domestic terrorist organization.”
“The NRA conspires to limit gun violence research, restrict gun violence data sharing and most importantly aggressively tries to block every piece of sensible gun violence prevention legislation proposed on any level, local state or federal,” Supervisor Catherine Stefani asserted, according to KQED News.
Stefani, identified as a “longtime advocate for gun safety,” included a recommendation in her resolution that San Francisco “should encourage all other jurisdictions, including other cities, states, and the federal government, to adopt similar positions.”
The NRA fired right back.
“This ludicrous stunt by the Board of Supervisors is an effort to distract from the real problems facing San Francisco, such as rampant homelessness, drug abuse and skyrocketing petty crime, to name a few,” the statement said. “The NRA will continue working to protect the constitutional rights of all freedom-loving Americans.”
The 5-million-member gun rights organization has been in turmoil for several months following what has been variously described as an attempted “coup” to oust longtime Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. That flap erupted at the annual convention in Indianapolis earlier this year, resulting in the resignation of then-NRA President Lt. Col. Oliver North (USMC-Ret.), and the subsequent departure of veteran chief lobbyist Chris Cox. At least four NRA Directors have also stepped down in recent months, and the fall Board of Directors meeting site was suddenly moved from Anchorage back to the Washington, D.C. area as the gun control battle is heating up anew.
The San Francisco resolution, which may be read here, asserts that the NRA “musters its considerable wealth and organizational strength to promote gun ownership and incite gun owners to acts of violence.” It goes on to accuse the organization of spreading “propaganda that misinforms and aims to deceive the public about the dangers of gun violence.”
Stefani’s resolution also accuses the NRA leadership of promoting “extremist positions in defiance of the views of a majority of its membership and the public” while undermining “the general welfare.”
The document wraps up by stating, “All countries have violent and hateful people, but only in America do we give them ready access to assault weapons and large-capacity magazines thanks, in large part, to the National Rifle Association’s influence.”
