Cuomo responds after NRA says it may cease to exist: ‘Too bad’

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said on Monday it’s “too bad” the National Rifle Association (NRA) could be in budgetary danger after his state pressured financial institutions to cut ties with the gun group.
“Too bad. You violated the law,” Cuomo told CNN, while also adding that “it’s not a defense to say, ‘Well, I was committing illegal activity, but I was making money from it, and now I’m upset that I lost the revenue.’”
{mosads}The New York Democrat’s remarks come days after the gun group said in a lawsuit it will be “unable to exist as a not-for-profit or pursue its advocacy mission” after the state of New York urged financial institutions and insurers not to work with it.
The NRA is currently suing Cuomo, the state’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) and Maria Vullo, New York’s superintendent of financial services, for allegedly seeking to hurt it.
The organization filed the lawsuit after DFS determined that the NRA’s “Carry Guard” insurance policy was illegal under New York state law and ordered insurers who provided the policy to not only stop selling it but to also pay a $7 million fine.
Carry Guard is “designed for people who carry weapons, and the insurance policy essentially insured them for intentional bad acts, intentional wrongdoing,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo told CNN that New York is “working with the other states” to put a stop to the policy nationwide.
“It would be highly unusual for a state to allow an insurance company to reimburse for an illegal activity. They call it ‘murder insurance,'” Cuomo said.
Cuomo also told CNN that he pleads “guilty” to accusations that he has long opposed the gun group.
“I believe the NRA represents an extremist group. I believe they’ve been counterproductive for gun owners in this country. I believe their politics suits them to stop any commonsense gun reform,” he continued.
“The NRA has always been against any progress whatsoever. They are oblivious to the facts. They’ve caused carnage in this nation,” the governor added.
The governor also sent a letter Monday calling on other governors to follow New York’s lead and block the sale of the gun group’s Carry Guard program.
“New York is standing up to the gun lobby to protect the lives and liberty of our citizens. But we cannot do it alone and our laws are only as strong as the ones in the states surrounding us,” Cuomo wrote in the letter.
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