Posted on 07/17/2009 7:51:15 AM PDT by pabianice
Other than declaring war, neither house of Congress has a more solemn responsibility than the Senate's role in confirming justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. As the Senate considers the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, Americans have been watching to see whether this nominee - if confirmed - would respect the Second Amendment or side with those who have declared war on the rights of America's 80 million gun owners.
From the outset, the National Rifle Association has respected the confirmation process and hoped for mainstream answers to bedrock questions. Unfortunately, Judge Sotomayor's judicial record and testimony clearly demonstrate a hostile view of the Second Amendment and the fundamental right of self-defense guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.
It is only by ignoring history that any judge can say that the Second Amendment is not a fundamental right and does not apply to the states. The one part of the Bill of Rights that Congress clearly intended to apply to all Americans in passing the Fourteenth Amendment was the Second Amendment. History and congressional debate are clear on this point.
Yet Judge Sotomayor seems to believe that the Second Amendment is limited only to the residents of federal enclaves such as Washington, D.C. and does not protect all Americans living in every corner of this nation. In her Maloney opinion and during the confirmation hearings, she deliberately misread Supreme Court precedent to support her incorrect view.
In last year's historic Heller decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment guarantees the individual's right to own firearms and recognizes the inherent right of self-defense. In addition, the Court required lower courts to apply the Twentieth Century cases it has used to incorporate a majority of the Bill of Rights to the States. Yet in her Maloney opinion, Judge Sotomayor dismissed that requirement, mistakenly relying instead on Nineteenth Century jurisprudence to hold that the Second Amendment does not apply to the States.
This nation was founded on a set of fundamental freedoms. Our Constitution does not give us those freedoms - it guarantees and protects them. The right to defend ourselves and our loved ones is one of those. The individual right to keep and bear arms is another. These truths are what define us as Americans. Yet, Judge Sotomayor takes an opposite view, contrary to the views of our Founding Fathers, the Supreme Court, and the vast majority of the American people.
We believe any individual who does not agree that the Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental right and who does not respect our God-given right of self-defense should not serve on any court, much less the highest court in the land. Therefore, the National Rifle Association of America opposes the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the position of Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
- NRA -
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America's oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military
Some would say she lied!
It’s the reading by a “wise Latina.”
just wish they would have done this sooner, louder and more often
The NRA is incredibly slow in their responses to events but they aren’t a singlularly owned company.
True. Why does our side always wait until these things are a done deal before anything is said? Say what you want about the Democrats, but when there is an issue that they feel strongly about, they are all over it right from the start, and they don't let up until they get their way.
Out of respect for the confirmation process, the NRA has not announced an
official position on Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation. However, should her answers
regarding the Second Amendment at the upcoming hearings be hostile or evasive, we will
have no choice but to oppose her nomination to the Court.
Careful. One of her first acts may be to demand that everything be done in espanol.
Too little too late.
And the NRA is racist for not backing Sotomayar. :(
“Careful. One of her first acts may be to demand that everything be done in espanol.”
Exactly. Libo-speak... mislead, misread, can’t recall, its all otherwise known as lying to the normal everyday people who call a spade a spade instead of allowing socialists dehumanize and decriminalize and otherwise tell us wrong is right.
Say NO to Political Correctness. It’s nothing short of brain washing.
Yeah - that’s nice. I wrongly put my hope in the NRA to bring down this nominee. All are neutered.
If the public knew how twisted the entire federal court system has been, for decades, it would rise up in righteous anger. "Presser," says the modern court, "means states are free to prohibit keep and bear arms." That is completely FALSE. Presser expressly says that states are FORBIDDEN from such action, even if there was not a 2nd amendment.
I'm an NRA member and I honestly think the leadership in the NRA needs a shake-up just like our government.
The second I first heard that she claimed this absurd view of the 2nd Amendment is the same second I started calling her Sonia Soto-Liar.
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