Thread: NRA holds its fire on Sonia Sotomayor nomination

NRA holds its fire on Sonia Sotomayor nomination

POLITICO.com
July 9, 2009
By MANU RAJU

A red-state Democratic rebellion based on gun rights may be the Republicans’ best shot if they want to derail Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

But so far, even the National Rifle Association has yet to engage in a serious lobbying effort to pressure centrist Democrats to oppose Sotomayor.

Several Democrats from conservative states told POLITICO that they are not ruling out opposing Sotomayor if she stumbles on the gun issue during her confirmation hearings, which begin July 13. But for now, red-state Democrats say they are comfortable with her position on the issue and are very unlikely to oppose her nomination — even if it elicits strong NRA opposition.

And to a larger extent, gun rights have not been a high profile for Sotomayor, who has assured many senators in private meetings that a 2008 Supreme Court ruling striking down the District of Columbia’s strict gun-control laws is the precedent that she would follow.

The NRA’s decision to wait until this week to wade into the debate has led many Democrats to believe that the group won’t mount a forceful opposition to Sotomayor — and the NRA’s official position this week was much milder than one issued by members of the group’s board of directors, who called on the Senate to reject Sotomayor altogether.

Also helping conservative DemoÂ*crats make up their mind: Another gun-rights group, the American Hunters and Shooters Association, has come out in support of Sotomayor. The group’s endorsement — which the NRA has criticized — will be highlighted as part of a rapid-fire response strategy Democrats plan to launch to respond to GOP attacks at the confirmation hearings, according to people familiar with the process.

Sotomayor is studying and preparing for the hearings — but the White House has been private about its war-gaming for the hearings and has not provided details to Senate Democrats. But what Sotomayor has done is visit with nearly every senator, and, in the process, win over key Democratic moderates whose support will be critical if the GOP chooses to filibuster.

Sen. Jon Tester, a moderate Montana Democrat and a proponent of broader gun rights, said Sotomayor’s views on the Second Amendment are “very much a factorâ€

I don't believe that they have done enough but many other gun groups have been actively working on this.


Joint Statement On Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Nomination To The United States Supreme Court

Thursday, July 16, 2009

WAYNE LAPIERRE, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION

AND

CHRIS W. COX, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION - INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION


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.

Read NRA's letter sent to the Majority Leader and Republican Leader of the U.S. Senate.


http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsRel ... x?ID=12702

This is the "pro' gun group supporting her nomination and giving cover to those republicans voting for her, however, in reality they espouse the ideals of the brady bill group.


http://www.huntersandshooters.com/

This is the "pro' gun group supporting her nomination and giving cover to those republicans voting for her, however, in reality they espouse the ideals of the brady bill group.

They leave me with the impression of the fox hunting blue blood elitist hunters. The old English aristocats that control the hunting grounds.