In 2018, political passions were high in the wake of the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. Maria Vullo was the Superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services, which regulates over 1,900 New York-domiciled insurance companies. She used her vast regulatory authority to dissuade insurers from doing business with the National Rifle Association. The Court found that the Superintendent was entitled to her opinions and to her prerogative to persuade people of the justice in her antipathy to the NRA. But, Ms. Vullo did more: she advised insurers that she’d be less likely to enforce legal infractions if those same insurers stopped affiliating with the NRA and other pro-firearms groups.

In this, Ms. Vullo went too far -- her threat of prosecution of insurers encroached on the free speech rights of the NRA. The Supreme Court held the Superintendent’s acts constituted coercion. Government officials in and beyond Illinois should take heed, as should any commercial or non-profit entity operating in Illinois. The government is as entitled to its free speech as is any individual or entity, but the line between persuasion of a policy position and coercion against entities holding the opposite position is fine.