The National Rifle Association (NRA) achieved a unanimous victory at the Supreme Court in a First Amendment lawsuit against New York’s Maria Vullo. Following the tragic Parkland shooting in 2018, Vullo reportedly pressured financial institutions to sever ties with the NRA, allegedly under threat of regulatory action. The NRA contends that these efforts constituted a blacklist against them, infringing on their freedom of speech. Rejecting Vullo’s defense, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that government officials lack the authority to use coercion against private entities to suppress viewpoints they oppose. This pivotal ruling allows the NRA to proceed with their case, marking a significant moment for First Amendment jurisprudence and setting a precedent for the relationship between government officials and advocacy groups.
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The unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court last week in National Rifle Association v. Vullo represents a needed breath of fresh air in a First Amendment atmosphere that has lately been heavy with suffocating arguments for punishing speech. Moreover, the fascinating concurrence by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson offers hints about the big social media cases everyone is awaiting.
