HOLLYWOOD—Los Angeles Councilman Mitch O’Farrell introduced a new motion which if passed would require city contractors to divulge any connections to the National Rifle Association. O’Farrell, who represents Silverlake, Echo Park, Hollywood and Atwater Village, introduced the motion as an attempt to encourage transparency and cut ties with the NRA.
“In Congress, next to nothing has been done due to the NRA’s stranglehold and propaganda machine. According to an audit obtained by the Center for Responsive Politics, the NRA’s spending on political activities from 1998-2017 aggregated to over $200 million,” states O’Farrell’s motion.
The motion calls for government transparency in the allocation of city’s public funds and seeks to clarify if taxpayer money is being used to pay contractors with connections to the NRA. There is no stated rule in the motion that the city of Los Angeles would deny contractors jobs based on their affiliation with the NRA.
A shooting transpired near the CHAMPS Charter High School of the Arts on Thursday, September 20, where a man and woman were injured and the school was placed on lock-down. The shooting occurred in Van Nuys near a Jack in the Box restaurant and Starbucks. Two suspects were arrested during the incident.
According to Gun Violence Archive, more than 1,800 mass shootings have occurred since the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School incident, with 2,000 killed and 7,000 injured. The GVA defines a mass shooting as an event in which four or more people (excluding the shooter) are killed or injured.
“For the sake of transparency the city’s residents and stakeholders deserve to know how the city’s public funds are being spent, and whether taxpayer funds are being spent on contractors that have contractual or sponsorship ties with the NRA,” the motion states.