Readers of these columns know that we believe that gun control is essential, that opposition to it is wrong and dangerous, and that the National Rifle Assn. is a very negative force in American society. This said, the attempt by the attorney general of New York State to shut down the NRA is wrong and dangerous.
The NRA is a non-profit entity. The government has no right interfering in its operations, other than if it violates the law, and all the more so has no right to try to close it down. The attorney general maintains that one or more leaders of the organization violate the law. If so, let the attorney general charge and prosecute, and if it has a case, it will win. The AG’s failure to follow the standard legal procedure gives credence to the view that there is no violation of the law by the NRA. Mismanagement, which seems to be at the heart of the AG’s complaint, is not in and of itself a violation of law.
There is free speech in this country. The NRA enjoys this right the same as, say, the ACLU. If a government official can deny the right of free speech to one organization, it can deny it to another. The very first organization that should be objecting to the AG’s move against the NRA is the ACLU.
For those opposed to the NRA, as we are, there is a civil way to do so. Out-argue it. Out-fundraise it. Out-vote those it supports. If one cannot do so, that confers upon the government no right to move against it. Needless to say, one target of the government’s wrath may today be a “bad guy,” but the next target of the government’s wrath may be a “good guy.” The government’s job is to stay neutral in these matters. That the NRA falls on the wrong side of a given political perspective conveys not a shred of legitimacy on a governmental attempt to move against it.
By definition, an attorney general is to uphold the law, not enforce a political line.
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