The Supreme Court decided Thursday that government officials cannot indirectly suppress free speech through coercion, reinforcing their previous decision in Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan.
Justice Sotomayor, writing for a unanimous court, said a government official “can share her views freely and criticize particular beliefs, and she can do so forcefully in the hopes of persuading others to follow her lead. In doing so, she can rely on the merits and force of her ideas, the strength of her convictions, and her ability to inspire others. What she cannot do, however, is use the power of the State to punish or suppress disfavored expression.”
The NRA argued that this is what Maria Vullo, former superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS), did when she met with executives and sent guidance letters to insurance companies and financial institutions. During investigations into the NRA’s affinity insurance providers following the mass shooting