...A leading constitutional rights attorney calls the action "21st century McCarthyism."
Baher Azmy, the legal director of the New York-based nonprofit Center for Constitutional Rights, said that with the executive order, Cuomo bypassed the state legislature and what Azmy called "the possibility of a bona fide debate on the American tradition of boycotting in support of social justice."
In addition, Cuomo's action violates the First Amendment protection of free speech, Azmy said.
"Cuomo's action has the ugliest attributes of McCarthyism: identifying organizations that engage in speech we dislike and, 'Let's blacklist them,'" said Azmy. "This is a well-orchestrated, well-funded, organized strategy to disproportionately punish U.S.-based activists. Really ugly." ...