October 2, 2020

USA: Los Angeles Officials Ordered To Pay NRA Six Figures After Losing First Amendment Case. Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti Accepted $5 Million From Qatar, Islamic Terror State.

written by Stephen Gutowski
Thursday October 1, 2020

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.

"In this case, the text of the Ordinance, the Ordinance's legislative history, and the concurrent public statements made by the Ordinance’s primary legislative sponsor evince a strong intent to suppress the speech of the NRA," Wilson ruled in December. "Even though the Ordinance only forces disclosure of activity that may not be expressive, the clear purpose of the disclosure is to undermine the NRA’s explicitly political speech."

The NRA filed suit against the ordinance shortly after it was implemented in April 2019. Amy Hunter, a spokeswoman for the NRA, told the Washington Free Beacon the rulings prove the city unfairly targeted the group because of its advocacy.

"Violations of any constitutional rights by government officials should carry consequences," she said. "The courts have rightfully imposed those consequences upon Los Angeles. The NRA will continue our fight and, as always, work to hold politicians accountable."

Neither Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti (D.) nor councilmember Mitch O'Farrell (D.), who sponsored the ordinance, responded to requests for comment.

Los Angeles is not alone in targeting the group. San Francisco's Democratic mayor stopped a similar ploy in response to an NRA lawsuit. The group is still locked in a First Amendment challenge over a letter sent by New York officials that warned banks away from working with the group. 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. "The City's residents deserve to know if the City's public funds are spent on contractors that have contractual or sponsorship ties with the NRA. Public funds provided to such contractors undermines the City's efforts to legislate and promote gun safety."

City leaders publicly defended the ordinance. 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.
👇 BONUS 👇 
written by Daniel Greenfield
Friday April 24, 2020

Between Newsom's Chinese mask deal and Garcetti's deal with Qatar, California's "nation-state" foreign policy is a national security threat. States and nations aren't meant to have their own foreign policy.
Thanks to a $5 million donation from Qatar to the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles — the largest-ever single donation to the fund — the Angeleno Card program is being expanded.  
Garcetti thanked the government of Qatar for the “truly generous humanitarian gift to Angeleno families.” He said the gift had special meaning, as it coincided with the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Qatar is the terror state that serves as a patron for everyone from the Muslim Brotherhood (and its Hamas branch) to Al Qaeda,

What is Qatar getting in exchange for this generosity? We'll find out down the road.

And, like anything in Cali, illegal aliens qualify. So we've got a terror state funding a cash giveaway to illegal aliens.

That's today's California.
Doha's Dangerous Policies
[source: Counter Extemist Project]

Overview

Qatar—a longtime U.S. ally and member of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS—has supported and harbored international terrorist organizations and individuals. The hydrocarbon-rich Gulf country sends direct financial and material support to internationally designated terrorist groups such as Hamas and the Nusra Front,* and knowingly permits internationally designated or wanted terrorist leaders and financiers to operate within its borders.* 

The Qatari government has lent support to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)*, Hamas*, the Muslim Brotherhood*, al-Nusra Front*, and the Taliban*—including through direct money loans, ransom payments, and supplies transfers. Qatar is also currently harboring at least 13 sanction-designated or wanted individuals, including former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, current Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Muslim Brotherhood ideologue Yusuf al-Qaradawi, three U.N.-sanctioned Taliban operatives, and at least seven al-Qaeda financiers.* Although these individuals have been publicly sanctioned by the United States or United Nations, or are the subject of INTERPOL arrest warrants, they are able to live with impunity—and in some cases, in luxury—within Qatar.

Direct Government Funding and Support

The Qatari government has paid ransom demands, shipped supplies, and funneled billions of dollars of funding to internationally designated extremist groups throughout the Middle East and North Africa.* These groups include al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, the al-Nusra Front, and the Taliban.*

CLICK HERE to read the full report.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 2:56 PM

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