In Flagstaff, Arizona leaders were walking away from revenue for displays at the city’s airport because of fears the courts might expect them to allow a gun shop the same opportunity to advertise as any other business. Unfortunately a similar case has popped up closer to home — the American Civil Liberties Union will represent the National Rifle Association in a lawsuit contesting New York’s Department of Financial Services targeting the group with a campaign of harassment, discouraging banks and insurers from doing business with the NRA.

“The government can’t blacklist an advocacy group because of its viewpoint,” the ACLU correctly notes, according to an article in The Hill.

Many advocates for the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms explicitly cite fears that without an armed populace, the government will trample the broader array of rights given by God.

We understand many believe these fears are overblown. But we also cannot think of any way advocates could make the case that these fears are not overblown based on the actions in Flagstaff and New York state.

In Flagstaff and throughout New York, rights are being violated — and it’s concerning that some are accepting the practice. As much as some people may wish we could cordon off the Second Amendment from other rights, that would be in direct violation of nearly all liberties enshrined in the Bill of Rights.