A welcome addendum to a 401k and financial services first amendment issue happening in the Empire State, one we’ve closely followed.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had, through the Department of Financial Services, ordered state regulators to suggest to 401k and similar financial firms they “review any relationships they may have with the National Rifle Association and other similar organizations. Upon this review, the companies are encouraged to consider whether such ties harm their corporate reputations and jeopardize public safety.”
Cuomo’s top financial cop, Maria Vullo, further urged companies to undergo the review to ensure the minimization of any reputational risk that could arise from business dealings with these organizations.
In hardball New York politics, the implication was clear: “That’s a nice financial services company. It’d be a shame if something happened to it …”
The NRA sued, and the case has now been ordered forward by U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy of the Northern District of New York.
“The National Rifle Association’s lawsuit against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and a state agency will move forward after a federal judge rejected part of the state’s motion to dismiss the group’s First Amendment claims Tuesday evening,” according to New York Law Journal. “[The judge] said in a lengthy decision that the NRA’s claims that actions by Cuomo and Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo stifled its free speech rights were sufficient enough to be evaluated at trial.”
Lockton Companies is one example of the fallout from the state’s actions. It recently dropped its 20-plus year affiliation with the second amendment adocacy organization.
Although Lockton’s chairman expressed that the company privately wished to continue doing business with the NRA, it feared losing its license to do business in the state altogether, which was Cuomo’s publicly stated intention.
We’re not NRA members and it’s not the point.
As we’ve repeatedly said, however one feels about the parties involved, it has broad First Amendment implications and involves (to a lesser extent) the proper role of regulators in policing the industry.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, if it can happen to the NRA, it can happen to anyone, and the causes for which they care.