US Supreme Court to hear NRA free speech case against New York official

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether a New York state official stifled the ability of the National Rifle Association to exercise free speech rights protected by the Constitution's First Amendment by pressuring banks and insurers to avoid doing business with the influential gun rights group. The justices took up the NRA's appeal of a lower court's decision to throw out the group's lawsuit against Maria Vullo, a former superintendent of New York's Department of Financial Services. It represents the latest case to come before the Supreme Court involving the NRA, a group closely aligned with Republicans that has opposed gun control measures and backed pivotal lawsuits that have widened U.S. gun rights.