The National Rifle Association Sues Governor Andrew Cuomo
After 17 high school students were killed on February 14th, 2018 in Parkland, Florida, many state governments across the country have enacted legislation in response to the tragedy that swept a nation. Since the February school shooting, sixteen states have either passed gun control laws or passed laws aimed at improving school security with the intention of preventing any further school shootings on American soil [1]. While Parkland was not the first mass shooting America has witnessed nor was it the last one, state governments across the country are finally realizing that both gun violence and the accessibility of guns are huge problems that cripple this nation.
A state that has enacted further gun control laws in wake of the Florida tragedy is New York. On May 1st, Governor Cuomo signed a bill into law that forces anyone with a history of domestic abuse to give up any firearm--not limited to handguns--they possess [2]. A key reason for the passing of this bill is because it has been statistically proven that abused women are “five times more likely to be killed if their abuser owns a firearm, and domestic violence assaults involving a gun are 12 times more likely to end in death than assaults with other weapons or physical harm.” [3].
Ten days after the legislation was signed into law, the National Rifle Association (NRA) filed lawsuits against both Andrew Cuomo and New York’s financial regulatory agency for allegedly launching a ‘blacklist’ campaign against the NRA. The NRA describes the ‘blacklist campaign’ as “‘selective prosecution, backroom exhortations, and public threats’ aimed at depriving the NRA and its members of their First Amendment rights ‘to speak freely about gun-related issues’” [4]. Furthermore, the powerful gun group believes that Governor Cuomo has deliberately launched initiatives with the intention of having banks and insurance companies cut ties with the NRA [5]. That is why the National Rifle Association believes that that they are being blacklisted by both the governor and the state’s financial regulatory committee.
In a responsive statement to the lawsuit, Andrew Cuomo said that “[t]he NRA's lawsuit is a futile and desperate attempt to advance its dangerous agenda to sell more guns" [6]. According to the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF), which is a political action committee designed to help elect pro-Second Amendment candidates into Congress, Andrew Cuomo has an “F” rating [7], with the criticism “Cuomo is a true enemy of gun rights who consistently opposes the rights of law-abiding gun owners in an effort to weaken the Second Amendment” [8]. NRA-PVF grades politicians based on party affiliation, voting records, and public statements [9].
Since Governor Cuomo has not only passed gun control laws, but has gone on record in favor of bans on assault weapons, the political action committee has given him a poor rating. Governor Cuomo went on to say that he is in fact proud of his poor grade from the group [10]. Furthermore, in his initial reaction to the National Rifle Association suing him, he said that this will not stop him from passing any more gun control laws in the state of New York [11].
After the atrocities committed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, several politicians have proven that they will not back down until sensible gun control laws are passed in order to prevent mass shootings at places that are presumably safe. Andrew Cuomo has consistently proven to be one of the politicians that will not go down without a fight until more is done to protect all Americans from becoming future victims of mass shootings.
References
[1] “Tracking Change since the Parkland School Shooting.” www.sun-Sentinel.com, interactive.sun-sentinel.com/parkland-change-tracker/.
[2] “Governor Cuomo Signs Legislation to Remove Guns from Domestic Abusers.” Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, 1 May 2018, www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-signs-legislation-remove-guns-domestic-abusers.
[3] “Domestic Violence & Firearms.” Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/who-can-have-a-gun/domestic-violence-firearms/.
[4] Matthews, Karen. “NRA Sues Gov. Cuomo over What It Calls Blacklisting Campaign.” AP News, Associated Press, 11 May 2018, apnews.com/ec0655ddfe414dc7b451d80d9140b7f3.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Gstalter, Morgan. “NRA Sues New York Governor, Alleging 'Blacklisting Campaign'.” TheHill, The Hill, 12 May 2018, thehill.com/homenews/news/387317-nra-sues-cuomo-for-blacklisting-campaign.
[7] NRA-PVF. “Defeat Cuomo.” NRA-PVF, www.nrapvf.org/campaigns/2014/defeat-cuomo/.
[8] Ibid.
[9] NRA-PVF. “About PVF.” NRA-PVF, www.nrapvf.org/about-pvf/.
[10] Gstalter, Morgan. “NRA Sues New York Governor, Alleging 'Blacklisting Campaign'.” TheHill, The Hill, 12 May 2018, thehill.com/homenews/news/387317-nra-sues-cuomo-for-blacklisting-campaign.
[11] Ibid.
