Supreme Court supports NRA in important free speech case.
Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Thursday that the National Rifle Association (NRA) has “plausibly alleged” that the New York State Department of Financial Services violated the group’s First Amendment rights by blacklisting it.
The high court, in a unanimous decision authored by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, stated that the NRA’s allegation of the Department of Financial Services coercing regulated entities to sever their business relationships with the NRA in order to suppress its advocacy holds merit.
The court’s decision overturned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s dismissal of the case, allowing the NRA to proceed with its argument.
The lawsuit, initiated by the NRA in 2018, questioned whether a government regulator’s threat to regulated entities with adverse actions for associating with a controversial speaker, allegedly due to the government’s hostility towards the speaker’s viewpoint, violates the First Amendment.
In a landmark ruling, the Court reaffirmed that government officials cannot coerce private parties to suppress viewpoints that the government opposes. The opinion cited a precedent where the Court held that such government actions infringe upon the First Amendment rights.
The NRA’s lawsuit targeted Maria T. Vullo, who, as the Superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services under former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s direction, blacklisted the NRA. Vullo’s actions effectively compelled banks and insurers to sever ties with the organization.
Following the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Vullo issued “guidance letters” to banks and insurance companies directing them to cut off relations with the NRA and other pro-Second Amendment groups, citing reputational risks.
The lawsuit alleged that Vullo resorted to backroom threats against regulated firms, offering leniency on unrelated issues in exchange for complying with the blacklist directives against the NRA.
The Supreme Court’s decision to support the NRA follows its agreement in November to hear the case after a federal appeals court dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that Vullo’s actions were reasonable.
The NRA received unexpected support from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a group that holds contrary ideologies to the NRA but stood in defense of its right to free speech.
ACLU’s Legal Director David Cole, who represented the NRA in the case, expressed the importance of preventing public officials from abusing their regulatory powers to stifle organizations based on their political views, portraying the NRA’s situation as a potential precedent for further abuse by state officials.
In conclusion, the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of the NRA sets a significant precedent in upholding the First Amendment rights of advocacy groups and limiting government interference in free speech.
