Aw, poor li’l NRA
Gov ad has ‘thoughts & prayers’ for gun group
The Cuomo administration unveiled a digital ad Sunday mocking the National Rifle Association's claim in court that it's facing financial ruin due to state regulations.
“I'm tired of hearing the politicians say we'll remember them in our thoughts and prayers,” Cuomo says in the YouTube clip (inset). “If the NRA goes away, I'll remember the NRA in my thoughts and prayers.”
“You try to bully us in New York, we put our finger in your chest and we push you back, and that's what we are going to do with the NRA,” Cuomo adds as dramatic music plays in the background.
The powerful gun-rights group says it has lost millions due to the state's push to discourage banks and insurance firms from working with the organization.
Cuomo and his state regulators “seek to silence one of America's oldest constitutional rights advocates,” the NRA wrote in the July 20 court filing. “If their abuses are not enjoined, they will soon, substantially, succeed.”
The Cuomo administration is seeking to have the NRA's case tossed.
A legal battle has been brewing since May, when the NRA filed a lawsuit against the state's Department of Financial Services.
The case was triggered by a letter from Maria Vullo, the state's top financial services regulator, urging banks and insurers to stop doing business with the NRA. That missive was sent out following the Parkland, Fla., mass shooting that left 17 dead and 17 wounded on Feb. 14.
The letter cautioned those intuitions would face “reputational risk” if they continued to be tied to the NRA and gun industry.
The NRA claims the letter has hurt the group financially. “As a direct result of this coercion, multiple financial institutions have succumbed to defendants' demands and entered into consent orders with (state regulators) that compel them to terminate longstanding, beneficial business relationships with the NRA, both in New York and elsewhere,” the NRA claims.
The loss of insurance coverage has put the group's daily operations at risk.
“Insurance coverage is necessary for the NRA to continue its existence,” the organization's amended complaint says.
“(The) NRA cannot maintain its physical premises, convene off-site meetings and events, operate educational programs … or hold rallies, conventions and assemblies,” the lawsuit adds.