The National Rifle Association says Tucson’s policy of destroying seized and surrendered weapons is designed to suppress gun ownership. The group's lawyer wants the Arizona Supreme Court to side with Attorney General Mark Brnovich who says a state law passed in 2013 requires guns to be sold rather than destroyed.

Brnovich went after Tucson’s program because of a new statute mandating his office investigate any time a lawmaker claims a local government is ignoring state law. If Tucson is found to be in violation, it could lose more than $100 million a year in state aid.

Lawyers for the city have argued that its status as a charter city allows local elected officials to decide what to do with city property, including guns. But the NRA’s attorney says the policy is part of a “crusade against the Second Amendment," which is designed to impede law-abiding citizens’ ability to acquire firearms by reducing the supply.

City records show 4,820 guns have been destroyed since the beginning of 2013.