The long-running battle between Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and the National Rifle Association, which says it has lost millions of dollars because of state officials’ political agenda, entered another round of legal wrangling and public posturing this week.
Mr. Cuomo announced on Friday that the state was moving to dismiss a lawsuit the N.R.A. filed in federal court in May, which he called “frivolous.” The lawsuit, which accused state officials of “blacklisting” the gun rights organization, was amended with sharper language last month.
At issue is whether New York regulators violated the constitutional rights of the N.R.A. by preventing financial institutions and insurers in the state from doing business with the organization.
In the lawsuit, the N.R.A. accused Mr. Cuomo, as well as the New York State Department of Financial Services and its superintendent, Maria T. Vullo, of discrimination that violated the organization’s right to free speech.
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Much of the argument revolves around Carry Guard, an insurance program started by the N.R.A. last year that was meant to cover legal fees for people who fired a weapon in self-defense.
New York financial regulators began investigating the program in October. That investigation was continuing when a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in February.
Survivors of the shooting have led protests in support of stricter gun control. Politicians have voiced their support, including Mr. Cuomo, who stretched out on a sidewalk to participate in a “die-in” with students in Lower Manhattan in March. Several businesses including car rental services, airlines, technology companies and insurers announced that they were cutting ties with the N.R.A.
Three months after the Parkland shooting, the Department of Financial Services announced that Lockton and an affiliate would pay a fine of $7 million while Chubb and a subsidiary would pay $1.3 million for underwriting Carry Guard.
According to the department, the program “unlawfully provided liability insurance to gun owners for acts of intentional wrongdoing.”
