Judge Kavanaugh’s Judicial Record Demonstrates a Dangerous View of the Second Amendment that Elevates Gun Rights Above Public Safety
Ten Years Ago, the Supreme Court Issued its Ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller, Establishing That While Law-Abiding Citizens Have a Right to Have Firearms at Home for Self Defense, the Second Amendment is Not Absolute And Allows for Common-Sense Gun Laws
WASHINGTON – Everytown for Gun Safety, the country’s largest gun violence prevention organization, released the following statement today as the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing begin tomorrow for President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
STATEMENT FROM JOHN FEINBLATT, PRESIDENT OF EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY:
“Judge Kavanaugh’s interpretation of the Second Amendment is as clear as it is extreme: He values gun rights over public safety. We adamantly oppose this nomination, which is just the latest example of President Trump making good on his vow to never let the NRA down.”
The Supreme Court made clear in its decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, that “Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.” The Court also confirmed “that the right was not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.” Judges appointed by both Republicans and Democrats since then have repeatedly upheld reasonable gun laws as consistent with the Second Amendment.
MORE INFORMATION ON JUDGE KAVANAUGH’S SECOND AMENDMENT RECORD:
- Judge Kavanaugh has applied an extreme and dangerous interpretation of the Second Amendment when determining whether a law is constitutional, one that does not take into account a law’s impact on public safety.
- Judge Kavanaugh has made clear he would strike down prohibitions on the AR-15 and other assault weapons. In 2011, he dissented from a decision upholding Washington, D.C.’s prohibition on assault weapons and its requirement to register handguns. The dissent put Judge Kavanaugh at odds not only with the two other Republican-appointed judges on the court hearing the case, but also every other federal and state appeals court to address the issue.