Posted on 05/29/2009 7:41:47 PM PDT by neverdem
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is staying on the sidelines in the battle over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, to the dismay of conservative activists who hoped that the gun-rights group would pressure conservative Democratic senators to oppose her.
Republicans have repeatedly tried to draw the NRA into court fights over the years but with little success. The Bush administration, for example, tried to persuade the group to support a number of its nominees, as did Senate Republicans.
But the NRA has often stayed aloof because few nominees have taken clear stands in favor of or opposed to the Second Amendment and other laws affecting gun ownership.
Sotomayor, however, sat on a panel that issued an opinion in a controversial case that could impact gun-owners’ rights, Maloney v. Cuomo. Sotomayor and other members of the court ruled that the Second Amendment does not apply to the states, only to the federal government. The plaintiff in the case argued that a state law barring him from owning nunchucks, a martial arts weapon, violated his constitutional right to bear arms.
Sotomayor’s court also ruled that the Supreme Court’s decision District of Columbia v. Heller, which invalidated the District’s law against handgun possession, did not go so far as to apply the Second Amendment to state law.
This ruling has given some Senate Republican aides and conservative activists hope that the NRA would immerse itself in the debate over Sotomayor.
But a spokesman for the organization said it’s staying on the sidelines for now.
“Right now we have a lot of concerns and questions and we hope to have those addressed during the confirmation hearing and throughout the process,” said Andrew Arulanandam, an NRA spokesman. “As far as our actions, we reserve the right to do anything based on what we find out.
“All options are on the table,” he added. “As we speak today, we’re waiting for the confirmation process. A research team is looking into her record on our issue.”
If the NRA joined the fray, it could alter the balance of support for Sotomayor. The group has already flexed its muscle during the 111th Congress, most notably when it pressured Senate Democrats to accept an amendment to credit card legislation that allows visitors to national parks and wildlife refuges to carry loaded weapons if they have a license to possess firearms.
Keeping their powder dry, for the time being...
It might help if the GOP showed some signs of opposing the bigot’s nomination first.
Isn’t it the opposition party’s job to fight this battle?
Isn’t it the opposition party’s job to fight this battle?
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The ones currently holding seem to be singing castrato.
Agreed. Just gear up for the upcoming battle with facts and not innuendos. As for most articles, it will take months to confirm/deny Judge ‘La Raza” anyway.
There’s a hell of alot more at stake in a SC nominee than just the 2nd Amendment. Rolling over and playing dead works only with possums.
The objections to this racist pig ought to be loud and clear.
Perhaps the NRA will enter the fray at a later time when it will have more impact. I would hate to think they’d take a pass on this nincompoop completely.
The NRA, the smartest, most effective political organization in America.
Someday colleges will teach about how they somehow have managed to reverse something that appeared to be irreversible, I really don't know how they have accomplished what they have over the last 15 years.
One of the least damaging people Oshama could nominate since she won't be taken seriously.
Who cares what the NRA thinks? They are no longer a credible pro-2A organization.
The real defenders of the Second Amendment (30 yrs of no compromise) - Gun Owners of America - have already come out against Sotomayor.
The NRA is a 2A organization, and they are apolitical, believe it or not. They watch voting records and judicial decisions and come down on the side of 2A supporters who walk the walk regardless of party. What’s wrong with that?
Whoever is writing this stuff is trying to stir up the pot.
The NRA is the only entity on our side of things who has gotten us results in the last few years. That fact alone buys them some trust in their decision making, in my opinion.
This is especially so in regard to battles that will ulitimately be lost, as this insufferable nomineee is likely to be confirmed anyway. They should save the "pressuring dems powder" for when it's needed and when it can actually have the intended effect.
That said, they can certainly speak out against her and be sure that her idiotic contention that the 2nd amendment doesn't apply to the states is broadcasted far and wide.
You have successfully described the strategy that led us to this point.
This is no time for moderation.
In fact, history has taught us there is no time for moderation at all.
The NRA was actually working to prevent Heller from going to the Supreme Court. They wanted to wait until they got just the right set of circumstances, and didn't feel this case was it.
However they did manage to take a lot of credit for the result.
I am still a Life Member, but a lot of other organizations are out there on the cutting edge.
“Keeping their powder dry, for the time being..”
Right well they should. If opposition peaks it will be on the white thing, not guns.
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