The state hit back against the National Rifle Association in a new filing late Thursday, saying its lawsuit against Gov. Andrew Cuomo and a state agency is “nothing more than an attempt by the NRA to insert politics into a regulatory insurance violation.”

Adrienne Kerwin, an assistant attorney general leading the state’s defense, said in the brief that the NRA chose to sue the state instead of resolving alleged misconduct through the sale of an illegal insurance product called Carry Guard.