Back in 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear NRA v. Vullo, where the National Rifle Association alleged that New York government officials violated the First Amendment by pressuring financial intermediaries to cut off or reduce their business ties to the NRA. At that point, the ACLU and its then-National Legal Director David Cole agreed to represent the NRA before the Supreme Court; indeed, Cole argued the case (extremely effectively, I thought).

This decision was controversial within the ACLU; indeed, the New York affiliate of the ACLU (the NYCLU) put out a public statement "strongly disagree[ing]" with the ACLU's decision to represent the NRA. The ACLU of New Mexico likewise dissented. But the ACLU leadership went ahead with the representation, presenting what I thought was a pow

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