San Francisco Officials Designate NRA a Domestic Terrorist Organization

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday declaring the National Rifle Association a domestic terrorist organization and urging other municipalities, states and the federal government to do the same.

The resolution calls out the NRA for inciting acts of violence and spreading "misinformation and propaganda" and encourages the city to assess and limit contracts with vendors affiliated with the NRA. It stops short, though, of putting in place any enforcement mechanisms or new regulations.

"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," said Supervisor Catherine Stefani, who sponsored the measure.

A longtime advocate for gun safety, Stefani also introduced a resolution earlier this year that authorized the San Francisco Police Department to use funds from the U.S. Department of Justice to help improve the collection, management and analysis of gun-crime evidence.

"When they use phrases like, 'I'll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands' on bumper stickers, they are saying reasoned debate about public safety should be met with violence," she said.

Tuesday's resolution notes America's "epidemic of gun violence, including over 36,000 deaths, and 100,000 injuries each year." It also highlights the striking frequency of mass shootings nationwide, specifically noting a massacre in nearby Gilroy in July that left four people dead, including two children.

In addition, it mentions a notable increase in hate crimes since 2015, and the growing number of guns in the U.S., which currently exceeds the country’s total population.

In a statement before the vote, NRA spokeswoman Amy Hunter 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."

"The board is wasting taxpayer dollars to declare five million law-abiding Americans domestic terrorists, and it’s shameful," she added.

This story includes reporting by KQED's Angela Corral.