Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Reject Sotomayor and Protect The Second Amendment

A Reprint from an email newsletter:

Letter to Reject Sotomayor and Protect the Second Amendment

Dear Senators: July 7, 2009

As Americans who have dedicated themselves to protecting the Second Amendment right of U.S. citizens to keep and bear arms, we urge you not to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the next associate justice of the United States Supreme Court.

It is extremely important that a Supreme Court justice understand and appreciate the origin and meaning of the Second Amendment, a constitutional guarantee permanently enshrined in the Bill of Rights. Judge Sotomayor's record on the Second Amendment causes us grave concern over her treatment of this enumerated constitutional right.

Last year, the Supreme Court decided the landmark case District of Columbia v. Heller, holding that the Second Amendment guarantees to all law-abiding, responsible citizens the individual right to keep and bear arms, particularly for self-defense.

Following Heller, the Supreme Court is almost certain to decide next year whether the Second Amendment applies to states and local governments, as it does to the federal government (see NRA v. Chicago and McDonald v. Chicago.)

While on the Second Circuit, Judge Sotomayor revealed her views on the right to keep and bear arms in Maloney v. Cuomo, a case decided after Heller, yet holding that the Second Amendment is not a fundamental right, that it does not apply to the states, and that if an object is "designed primarily as a weapon" that is a sufficient basis for total prohibition even within the home.

Earlier in a 2004 case, United States v. Sanchez-Villar, Sotomayor and two colleagues perfunctorily dismissed a Second Amendment claim holding that "the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right." Imagine if such a view were expressed about other fundamental rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, such as the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments.

Surprisingly, Heller was a 5-4 decision, with some justices arguing that the Second Amendment does not apply to private citizens or that if it does, even a total gun ban could be upheld if a "legitimate governmental interest" could be found.

The dissenting justices also found D.C.'s absolute ban on handguns within the home to be a "reasonable" restriction. If this had been the majority view, then any gun ban could be upheld, and the Second Amendment would be meaningless.

The Second Amendment survives today by a single vote in the Supreme Court.

Both its application to the states and whether there will be a meaningfully strict standard of review remain to be decided by the High Court.

Judge Sotomayor has already revealed her views on these issues and we believe they are contrary to the intent and purposes of the Second Amendment and Bill of Rights. As Second Amendment leaders deeply concerned about preserving all fundamental rights for current and future generations of Americans, we strongly oppose this nominee, and urge the Senate not to confirm Judge Sotomayor.

Sincerely,

Alan M. Gottlieb Chairman, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Joseph P. Tartaro President, Second Amendment Foundation
Sandra S. Froman, Esq. Former President, National Rifle Association of America NRA Board of Directors and Executive Council
Landis Aden President, Arizona State Rifle & Pistol Association
Scott L. Bach, Esq. President, Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs
The Honorable Bob Barr Former Congressman, 7th District of Georgia NRA Board of Directors
Ken Blackwell Senior Fellow, Family Research Council NRA Board of Directors
Representative Jennifer R. Coffey Representative Jennifer R. Coffey, NREMT-IRepresentative, New Hampshire General CourtDirector and National Coordinator, Second Amendment Sisters, Inc. Advisor, New Hampshire Pro-Gun Advisory Council
Robert K. Corbin, Esq. Former Attorney General, State of Arizona Former President of NRA and current member of NRA Executive Council
Jim Dark Former Executive Director, Texas State Rifle Association NRA Board of Directors
Tom Gresham Host of "Gun Talk"Nationally syndicated radio talk show
Gene Hoffman, Jr. Chairman, The Calguns Foundation
Susan Howard NRA Board of Directors
Tom King President, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association NRA Board of Directors
John T. Lee President, The Pennsylvania Rifle and Pistol Association
Owen P. Buz Mills President, Gunsite Academy, Inc. NRA Board of Directors
Evan F. Nappen, Esq. Corporate Counsel and Director, Pro-Gun New Hampshire, Inc.
Grover G. Norquist President, Americans for Tax Reform NRA Board of Directors
Sheriff Jay Printz Retired Sheriff and Coroner, Ravalli County, Montana Successful plaintiff in U.S. Supreme Court case Printz vs. U.S. NRA Board of Directors
Todd J. Rathner President, T. Jeffrey Safari Company NRA Board of Directors
Wayne Anthony Ross, Esq. President, Alaska Gun Collectors Association Former Attorney General, State of Alaska NRA Board of Directors
Don Saba, Ph.D. Sierra Bioresearch NRA Board of Directors
Robert E. Sanders, Esq. Former Assistant Director (Law Enforcement), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms NRA Board of Directors
Jon A. Standridge Brigadier General (USA Ret.)
Jim Wallace Executive Director, Gun Owners' Action League

Call your Senator and Say No To Sotomayor and Yes To The Second Amendment

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