Subj : NRA 1st Amendment Case
To   : All
From : Mike Powell
Date : Wed Dec 20 2023 17:57:40

SOURCE: Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-hear-nra-free-speech-case-agains
t-new-york-official-2023-11-03/

http://tinyurl.com/bdf3b2aw

US Supreme Court to hear NRA free speech case against New York official

"The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday (Nov 3) agreed to decide whether a New York
state official stifled the ability of the National Rifle Association to
exercise free speech rights protected by the Constitution's First Amendment by
pressuring banks and insurers to avoid doing business with the influential gun
rights group.

"The justices took up the NRA's appeal of a lower court's decision to throw out
the group's lawsuit against Maria Vullo, a former superintendent of New York's
Department of Financial Services.

"At issue was whether Vullo wielded her regulatory power to coerce New York
financial institutions into cutting ties with the NRA in violation of its First
Amendment rights.

"Vullo said in court papers her statements encouraging financial institutions
to examine their ties to pro-gun organizations following the Parkland shooting
had not 'crossed the line between permissible persuasion and unconstitutional
coercion.'

"A federal judge in 2021 dismissed all claims apart from two free speech claims
against Vullo. The Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2022
said those also should have been dismissed, prompting the NRA's Supreme Court
appeal."

This news is somewhat old, except that more recently the national-level ACLU
has become involved (on the side of the NRA) which has caused other state and
regional chapters (in NY and Northern California) to attempt to distance
themselves from the national ACLU;s decision.  That has brought it back into
the news.  A decision from the SCOTUS won't likely come until June, 2024.

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