“Defendants seek to silence one of America’s oldest constitutional rights advocates,” it said. “If their abuses are not enjoined, they will soon, substantially, succeed.”
In announcing the filing to dismiss the suit, Mr. Cuomo said that “while the N.R.A. tries to play the victim, New York stands with the real victims — the thousands of people whose lives are cut short by gun violence every year.”
The N.R.A. is a staunch, sometimes incendiary defender of the Second Amendment with a long record of hobbling regulatory efforts[1], grading legislators on their voting histories and running ads suggesting that the rights of gun owners are forever under siege.
During the 2016 presidential election cycle, the N.R.A. spent $20 million[2] to persuade voters to reject Hillary Clinton and another $11 million in support of Donald J. Trump[3]. Public records from that year showed that the organization’s expenses exceeded revenues[4] by about $46 million.
Donations to the organization spiked after the Parkland shooting, according to records from the Federal Election Commission[5].
William Brewer, a partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors who is lead counsel in the organization’s lawsuit against the New York officials, said on Saturday that the N.R.A. is growing and “in good financial standing.”
“However, the conduct of defendants, from the home state of the N.R.A., now threaten the financial growth and overall trajectory of the organization,” he said.
References
- ^ hobbling regulatory efforts (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ the N.R.A. spent $20 million (www.documentcloud.org)
- ^ in support of Donald J. Trump (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ expenses exceeded revenues (projects.propublica.org)
- ^ records from the Federal Election Commission (docquery.fec.gov)
