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State Files To Dismiss NRA Suit

New York is filing a motion to dismiss the National Rifle Association’s lawsuit against New York.

The NRS’s lawsuit was filed May 11 after Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed the Department of Financial Services to urge companies to weigh reputational risk of business ties to the NRA and similar organizations.

“New York we will not be intimidated by the NRA’s frivolous lawsuit to advance its dangerous gun-peddling agenda,” Cuomo said. “Donald Trump and Washington, D.C., may be bought and paid for by the NRA, but in New York we are listening to the voices of people across the nation calling for action to keep our communities safe. While the NRA 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.”

In April, Cuomo directed the Department of Financial Services to urge insurance companies, New York State-chartered banks, and other financial services companies licensed in New York to review any relationships they may have with the National Rifle Association and other similar organizations. Upon this review, the companies were encouraged to consider whether such ties harm their corporate reputations and jeopardize public safety.

The Motion to Dismiss calls for the NRA’s complaint to be dismissed in its entirety and argues that the actions by the Cuomo and the Department of Financial Services to protect New Yorkers do not implicate the NRA’s First Amendment rights or deprive the NRA of any other constitutional protections.

The Hill reported on Friday that William Brewer, an attorney for the NRA, said in an emailed statement that the NRA “is suffering setbacks with respect to the availability of insurance and banking services — as a result of a political and discriminatory campaign meant to coerce financial institutions to refrain from doing business with the NRA.”

Among issues the NRA has faced, according to The Hill, is the loss of its insurance coverage after its carrier was unwilling to renew coverage, the possible closure of NRATV and other publications after it lost its media liability coverage, possible loss of access to financial services because banks are distancing themselves from the NRA because of concerns that involvement with the NRA could expose the banks to regulatory reprisals.

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