There aren’t a whole lot of pro-gun people in the city of Los Angeles. I get that. It’s very much a gun control city and a big part of why the state is so pro-gun control.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any pro-gun people in Los Angeles. What’s more, some of those pro-gun people may have businesses that provide services, some of which the city may well need.

If that’s the case, they need to get their lawyers ready.

A Los Angeles City Council Committee approved a proposed ordinance Monday that would require city contractors to disclose any ties they have to the National Rifle Association. The full City Council in October approved a motion from Councilman Mitch O’Farrell which authorized the drafting of the ordinance by the City Attorney’s Office. The ordinance would not ban NRA-connected contractors from doing business with the city but would require them to disclose any contracts or sponsorships they have with the gun rights advocacy group. The NRA did not respond to a request for comment. “The roadblock to gun safety legislation across the United States is the National Rifle Association,” O’Farrell said during a meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee in October. “Although gun safety legislation has been enacted by some individual states, especially here in California, the NRA’s lock on Congress and the Senate is such that no gun safety legislation has been enacted at the federal level since 1994 with the assault weapons ban. Than ban expired in 2004.” The Budget and Finance Committee approved the draft ordinance on Monday. It will now go to the full City Council for consideration.

This isn’t the first time the city council pulled this crap. The last time was in 2017 when they required contractors to reveal if they’d bid on President Donald Trump’s border wall project. The difference then is that it could be argued that bidding on such a massive project made it possible that the contractor wouldn’t be able to devote sufficient attention to the city’s needs.

I mean, that’s not what it’s about, only that they could argue that and probably get it to fly by the judge.

Further, such a revelation doesn’t necessarily disclose someone’s politics. Even some progressives may have been enticed to bid on such a potentially lucrative project.

But this is different. This time, the Los Angeles City Council wants to place a political litmus test. They want to know the gun politics of contractors before they’ll even consider doing business with them.

Yes, I know, it doesn’t ban them from bidding. However, it does create a double standard. It doesn’t require anyone to reveal ties to any other entity out there. They could have strong ties to NAMBLA (link to Wikipedia for anyone unfamiliar with the group. I am not linking to their site), apparently, and the Los Angeles City Council won’t care in the least. Support a constitutional right, though, and give up your thoughts of city contracts.

Further, it’s likely to have a chilling effect on those who have National Rifle Association ties and might be potential contractors for the city. They’re not going to bother bidding on contracts because everyone knows they won’t get them, regardless of how good their bid is.

I’m sorry, but this looks like territory where lawsuits need to be involved. Political litmus tests like this are wrong on every level, and this nonsense needs to be stomped down hard before it takes hold elsewhere.