The New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union is speaking out against the organization’s decision to represent the National Rifle Association in a Supreme Court case that tests whether the state violated the gun-rights group’s free-speech protections.
The ACLU announced on Saturday that its attorneys will officially take on the NRA’s case, which is pending before the nation’s top court and centers on whether a former high-ranking New York state official took steps to effectively blacklist the NRA within the finance industry.
In a statement, David Cole, the ACLU’s national legal director, stressed that the organization does not support the NRA or its mission — but instead seeks to prevent a potentially dangerous precedent where states can “effectively silence opposition advocacy groups.”
But the ACLU’s decision puts it directly at odds with the New York Civil Liberties Union.
In an interview with Gothamist, the NYCLU’s longtime Executive Director Donna Lieberman made clear her organization opposes the ACLU representing the NRA.
“We believe in defending the free speech rights of people we disagree with, even people we abhor, but there’s no need here for the ACLU to jump in to stand up in court as the lawyers for the NRA,” she said.
The ACLU has a long history of providing legal representation or assistance in cases that could infringe on civil liberties, including a long line of First Amendment cases centered on free speech.
At various points over the years, the ACLU has provided legal aid to organizations whose positions it otherwise doesn’t support — groups like the North American Man/Boy Love Association and the Ku Klux Klan — in cases where it has believed First Amendment principles were at risk.
The NRA’s case, meanwhile, focuses on former state Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo, and whether her efforts to warn financial institutions — which are regulated by her agency — about doing business with the NRA…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply