WASHINGTON — A unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for a National Rifle Association lawsuit against a former New York state official over claims she pressured companies to blacklist it following the deadly 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Giving the NRA a new chance to prove its case, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, “the critical takeaway is that the First Amendment prohibits government officials from wielding their power selectively to punish or suppress speech.”
The NRA said ex-New York state Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo violated its free-speech rights during her investigation of NRA-endorsed insurance policies. The group worked with insurance companies to offer its members Carry Guard policies that covered losses caused by firearms, even when the insured person intentionally killed or hurt somebody. Critics called the policies “murder insurance.”
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The decision came the same day the court gave homeowners another chance to force Bank of America and other large banks to pay interest on mortgage escrow accounts.