San Francisco Declares the NRA as Terrorists, Because They Are
The San Francisco Bay Area and the National Rifle Association have hardly been friends in the modern age, but as of this week, the enemy line has been clearly drawn. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday night to pass a resolution declaring the NRA a domestic terror organization and they hope more cities will do the same.
Supervisor Catherine Stefani brought the resolution to the table after the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting where three people were killed and 20 more were injured July 28. The 19-year-old shooter opened fire on a crowd of unsuspecting festivalgoers with an assault-style rifle and a online “manifesto” and target list pointing to a list of grievances with hints of white supremacist beliefs. He was angry at “mestizos” and techies. He took issue with various religious and political organizations. He weaponized his anger and took lives. The NRA makes his story possible.
Stefani, and now the rest of the BOS, has had enough.
According to a Los Angeles Times report, the resolution text alleges the gun lobbying group promotes extremist ideology with:
“[P]ropaganda that misinforms and aims to deceive the public about the dangers of gun violence” and arms “individuals who would and have committed acts of terrorism.”
Tapping into their played-out trick bag of deflection and indignation, the NRA responded to the resolution decision in a statement to KTVU. They said:
“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 NRA will continue working to protect the constitutional rights of all freedom-loving Americans.”
“NRA is a terrorist organization” billboard sponsored by Mad Dog PAC. Photo courtesy of Pensacola News Journal.
Stefani is unfazed and determined to inspire other cities and states to adopt similar resolutions, saying:
“The NRA has it coming to them, and I will do everything that I possibly can to call them out on what they are, which is a domestic terrorist organization.”
Terrorism, as defined by Britannica, is “the systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective.”
In this case, it is the rhetoric the NRA relies so heavily on to retain members and feed their coffers. Each time it appears the government might inch toward some watered-down gun control legislation, the NRA issues frantic newsletters, emails and phone calls warning gun enthusiasts that the man is coming to confiscate their firearms. In their lowest of moments, they’ve taken to skewering victims themselves, as was seen with the Parkland kids. As popular opinion shifts toward widespread desire for universal background checks and assault rifle bans, the lobbying group grows more incendiary with their rhetoric. They are quite literally pushing a fear agenda in order to save their own skin and in the process are putting other real lives at risk. They may not be pulling the trigger during mass shootings but inspiring needless violence is just as destructive as the act itself — the Charles Manson case is an excellent example on a much smaller scale.
Donald Trump speaks in praise of the NRA. Photo courtesy of CNN.
NRATV, established in 2016 (coincidental timing?), has been a voice of fear mongering and incendiary language pushing the vision of an apocalyptic future that can only be survived if every man, woman and child is packing. This is nothing new. They been steadily sinking into fear-based propaganda while claiming to be some righteous warriors for the 2nd Amendment, and they have found their best ally in today’s White House. With Trump wrapped tightly around Wayne LaPierre’s little trigger finger, he has continuously bowed down to the NRA gods in the wake of each mass shooting, and those shootings seem to be coming in rapid fire with tragically deadly effects.
Inciting fear and acts of violence to promote a political agenda is terrorism. San Francisco just called that out — it will now be up to more cities and local governments, those less susceptible to the funding carrots the NRA dangles, to do what’s right to save lives in a time when our federal government is offering nothing more than thoughts and prayers.
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