No matter how they framed it, the American Civil Liberties Union will catch a lot of flak with the announcement of their new client: the National Rifle Association. It’s made me do a double-take. The ACLU has been one of the NRA’s chief rivals, but in this case—they’re allies.
We have to go back to 2018, when then-superintendent Maria Vullo of New York’s Department of Financial Services sent a series of letters to various companies, warning them to consider “reputational risks” regarding doing business with the NRA in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas School in Parkland, Florida. Some companies did cut ties, which led the NRA to sue Vullo. This case is now set to be heard before the Supreme Court, where the ACLU will argue that if left unchecked, these actions set a precedent for state power to be weaponized against organizations it disagrees with politically (via Associated Press):
The New York-based civil liberties group confirmed Saturday that it would provide legal representation for the gun-rights group in its First Amendment case against New York’s Department of Financial Services even as it “vigorously” opposes nearly everything it stands for.
[…]
The nation’s highest court is set to hear arguments early next year in a case centered on comments former New York State Department of Financial Services superintendent Maria Vullo made in the wake of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
After 17 people were killed at the Parkland, Florida, school, Vullo called on banks and insurance companies operating in New York to discontinue their association with gun-promoting groups.
In letters to companies and news releases, she urged operators to consider “reputational risks” from doing business with the NRA and other gun groups.
The NRA sued Vullo after multiple entities cut ties or decided not to do business with the Fairfax, Virginia-based organization. The federal appeals court in New York rejected the NRA’s claims, saying Vullo acted in good faith and within the bounds of her job.
[…]
ACLU…argued that if the Supreme Court doesn’t intervene, it could create a “dangerous playbook” for regulatory agencies across the country to blacklist or punish “viewpoint-based organizations” including abortion rights groups, environmental groups and even the ACLU itself.
“The questions at the core of this case are about the First Amendment and the principled defense of civil liberties for all, including those with whom we disagree on the Second Amendment,” the ACLU wrote. “We won’t let the rights of organizations to engage in political advocacy be trampled.”
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BREAKING: We’re representing the NRA at the Supreme Court in their case against New York’s Department of Financial Services for abusing its regulatory power to violate the NRA’s First Amendment rights.
— ACLU (@ACLU) December 9, 2023
The government can’t blacklist an advocacy group because of its viewpoint.
If the Supreme Court doesn’t intervene, it will create a dangerous playbook for state regulatory agencies across the country to blacklist or punish any viewpoint-based organizations — from abortion rights groups to environmental groups or even ACLU affiliates.
— ACLU (@ACLU) December 9, 2023
The questions at the core of this case are about the First Amendment and the principled defense of civil liberties for all, including those with whom we disagree on the Second Amendment.
— ACLU (@ACLU) December 9, 2023
We won’t let the rights of organizations to engage in political advocacy be trampled.
Is this a Christmas miracle? Has the ACLU returned to its principled ways? I wouldn’t bet the mortgage. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. In due time, the ACLU will take on a case that will make us hate them again. On this, let’s hope they succeed. The credit card companies attempted to track the activities of gun owners in what could have been a backdoor gun registry. Anti-gun forces are constantly working to shred our constitutional rights, so we should welcome any help for these oral arguments.
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