January 17, 2024 – Law360 reports that the federal government filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in connection with the National Rifle Association's (NRA) lawsuit against a former New York state regulator.
The report states that, in the brief, the "federal government said the NRA's allegations concerning the February 2018 meetings that former New York Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo had with Lloyd's of London provide a 'straightforward basis' for rejecting the Second Circuit's finding that no coercion occurred."
In a May 2018 lawsuit, the NRA alleged that Vullo conspired to use DFS' regulatory power to “financially blacklist” the NRA – coercing banks and insurers to cut ties with the Association to suppress its pro-Second Amendment speech.
"Importantly, the solicitor general recognizes that the actions of defendants alleged in the complaint state a claim that Vullo was attempting to suppress our client's Second Amendment advocacy," William A. Brewer III, counsel for the NRA, told Law360. "The government reaches the same conclusion as many others: the Second Circuit erred in rejecting the association's claims."
Law360 writes that the federal government's filing is "among the roughly two dozen amicus briefs that have been submitted since the NRA filed its opening brief early last week. While a few claim to support neither party, the bulk of the briefs appears to support the NRA's position, such as the one led by Sen. Tedd Budd, R-N.C., and Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., and backed by 17 Senate members and 62 House representatives."