Cuomo targets the NRA _ and free speech

ALBANY, N.Y. _ Andrew Cuomo versus the NRA? You know the governor is loving this.

The public brawl with the group Democrats hate most is just what Cuomo needs to carry him through next month's primary and to elevate his standing for the coming presidential race. It's a wonderful way to change the subject and brush aside those unpleasant corruption headlines.

But there's something to consider if you are among those cheering the governor during this particular fight: His attack on the National Rifle Association is more harmful to the First Amendment than the Second.

Cuomo, you see, has essentially weaponized the state's regulatory authorities to go after a political organization with which he disagrees. It is also an organization that will stand in his way if he really does run for president.

Specifically, the fight involves an insurance policy that is promoted by the NRA for those who carry concealed weapons. The governor says the program is illegal in New York because it could cover acts of "intentional wrongdoing."

If it is true that the insurance is illegal _ I won't pretend to be an expert in insurance law _ the state is within its rights to target it.

But the effort is much broader than that. Cuomo, as the NRA notes in a recently filed lawsuit, is using the power of state government to pressure banks and insurance companies to stop doing business with the gun rights group.

"We must push further to ensure that gun safety is a top priority for every individual, company, and organization that does business across the state," Cuomo said in an April press release. "I am directing the Department of Financial Services to urge insurers and bankers statewide to determine whether any relationship they may have with the NRA or similar organizations sends the wrong message."

The DFS, which regulates the banking and insurance industries, followed up with letters urging companies to reconsider doing business with the NRA and other gun-rights groups. Consider the potential for "reputational risk," the letters say.

"Simply put, the defendants made it clear to banks and insurers that it is bad business in New York to do business with the NRA," the group says in its lawsuit. It adds that the "blacklisting campaign" is a violation of speech and association rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

The NRA is wrong about much, but they have that right. What Cuomo is doing _ using the power of the state to target a political enemy _ is tyrannical.

If you're willing to excuse the danger this time because you believe the NRA is uniquely awful, at least consider the precedent being set. What if conservative governors decide to similarly target progressive causes or companies that do business with liberal advocacy groups?

To get a sense of what that might look like, we don't have to travel far. We have an example from right here in Albany, implemented by ... you guessed it! ... Andrew Cuomo.

Two years ago, the governor issued an executive order requiring state agencies to stop doing business with companies and organizations that support boycotts, divestment or sanctions against Israel for its alleged mistreatment of Palestinians _ otherwise known as the BDS movement, a popular cause on the left.

Cuomo's order even required that the state Office of General Services create a blacklist of companies involved in the BDS movement and make that list available to everyone online _ a nice little bit of public shaming for anyone daring to diverge from the governor's point of view.

The move was outrageously antagonistic toward free speech, but that has long been the pattern with Cuomo. He doesn't want to debate those who disagree with him. He calls his opponents enemies and tries to intimidate them. He tries to shut them up. On Monday, Cuomo was still enjoying the attention provided by his battle with the NRA. Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," he said, "If they went away, I would offer my thoughts and prayers, Joe, just like they do every time we have another situation of innocents losing their lives."

It's an effective line among Democrats, and Cuomo has repeated it in recent days. It's also an effective line for the NRA, given how it will induce a flood of donations.

Cuomo versus the NRA? In the short term, both sides win.

Contact columnist Chris Churchill at 518-454-5442 or email cchurchill(at)timesunion.com