Washington Post: Republican Attorneys General Back NRA in Fight Against New York Effort to Dissolve Gun Rights Group
On December 22, 2020, The Washington Post reported that 16 attorneys general filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) against New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James.
“The New York Attorney General cannot be allowed to wield the power of her office to discriminate against the NRA simply because she does not like its members’ political views, advocacy or defense of a constitutional right,” the GOP attorneys general said in the brief, which was led by Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.
In August, Brewer client, the NRA, filed a lawsuit that alleges that the NYAG weaponized her regulatory and legal powers to harm a political adversary. The lawsuit notes that James vowed to "target the NRA" and "investigate the legitimacy of the NRA as a charitable organization" while on the campaign trail in July 2018 – before taking office and without any evidence of compliance failures.
In November, NYAG James filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. On December 21, 2020, the NRA filed a memorandum of law in opposition to the motion to dismiss.
"In this filing, the NRA confronts the efforts of the New York Attorney General to avoid legal scrutiny for the obvious abuse of the powers of her office,” said William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and counsel to the NRA. "The NRA believes James' open hostility toward the Association and its law-abiding members is unconscionable. Courts have repeatedly held that the underlying chilling effects of conduct like James’ require judicial scrutiny."