To the editor:

I am writing to thank the Supreme Court and hardworking Republicans like Elise Stefanik for upholding our First and Second Amendment rights in the face of flagrant abuse of power by the politicians and bureaucrats in Albany.

Targeting law-abiding gun owners and their right to free association through the NRA, New York leaders sought to pressure private insurance companies and banks to break ties and censure their speech in exchange for leniency in unrelated legal proceedings. Albany politicians sought to circumvent the constitution to disarm and disempower the people of New York state of their constitutional rights. However, the recent decision by the Supreme Court in the NRA v. Vullo has upheld the principle that the government cannot use its regulatory powers to coerce private businesses to punish those who disagree with the government. This decision protects our Second Amendment rights from the excesses of government overreach and our First Amendment rights. New York’s attempt to privatize oppression has failed. The next stop is applying these same principles to private entities, our courts and our large media conglomerates.

Steve Tavormina

Queensbury