Mountain States Legal Foundation is proud to announce a major victory for free speech and Second Amendment rights: The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in NRA v. Vullo!
The Supreme Court’s groundbreaking decision affirmed the NRA’s First Amendment claims against Maria Vullo, the former head of New York’s Department of Financial Services (DFS). Vullo’s 2017 phony investigations pressured insurers working with the NRA to cut ties under threat of DFS probes, leading some insurers to end or avoid new relationships with the NRA. The NRA argued that this amounted to censorship and retaliation against its pro-gun advocacy, a violation of the First Amendment. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals based in New York rejected the claims, but the Supreme Court just reinstated them, emphasizing that public officials can never coerce private entities into suppressing opposing viewpoints.
James Kerwin, an attorney with Mountain States, expressed his satisfaction with the decision, stating, “The Supreme Court today handed down a victory for free speech. The Superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services strongly opposes Second Amendment freedoms and sought to prevent effective advocacy against her beliefs. We are gratified that the Supreme Court saw through this strategy and today reversed the lower court’s decision allowing the NRA’s lawsuit to go forward.”
This victory reinforces the principle that the government can’t do indirectly what it is banned from doing directly. New York’s alleged attempts to disrupt the NRA by pressuring insurers do not pass constitutional scrutiny.
Mountain States celebrates this victory and is proud to have written an amicus supporting the NRA!
