Let's put some cards on the table to start off this post: I think Andrew Cuomo[1] is a terrible governor of NY (and he was a terrible Attorney General before that), and doesn't deserve to be in office. I also think the NRA is a joke of an organization, that stirs up bullshit fear and racial divisions, and frequently shits on the 1st Amendment[2] plenty of times when people try to challenge the 2nd Amendment. I recognize that some percentage of you probably feel differently about Cuomo and (chances are...) a non-overlapping venn diagram of you probably feel differently about the NRA. I think they're both terrible and should disappear from public life. And I say that upfront because my position on this particular lawsuit has nothing to do with which side I "like." I don't like either one.
But on the law in this particular case, clearly the NRA is in the right, while Cuomo is wrong. And thankfully, so far a judge agrees.
Let's take a step back, though, to look at what's happening. Cuomo is no fan of the NRA. And he decided to use his position as governor to punish the NRA for its advocacy. Back in April, he put pressure on banks and other financial institutions[3] to cut all ties with the NRA. It's kind of incredible that he would think this would fly. Indeed, the situation is pretty damn close to that time that Cook County (Illinois) Sheriff Thomas Dart pressured credit card companies[4] to stop doing business with Backpage, leading to a pretty massive judicial smackdown[5] from Judge Richard Posner.
A public-official defendant who threatens to employ coercive state power to stifle protected
