The Second Amendment Foundation has joined other voices in the gun rights community by announcing its strong support of President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“Judge Barrett is eminently qualified to take a seat on the highest court in the nation,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Our research shows her to be an outstanding candidate and we hope the U.S. Senate can quickly vote to confirm her.”
In 2017, the American Bar Association’s Committee on the Federal Judiciary found Amy Coney Barrett to be “well qualified” for a judgeship with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. According to the Senate Republican Communications Center, former colleagues of Judge Barrett at the Notre Dame Law School consider her a “brilliant teacher and scholar” with an “absolute dedication to the rule of law.”
“When Donald Trump took office,” Gottlieb recalled, “one of his most important campaign pledges was to bring balance to the federal court system, nominating judges, and Supreme Court justices, with solid constitutional credentials. We’re delighted to say he’s certainly kept his promise, and in Judge Barrett, we think the president has offered a nominee with impeccable credentials. To say we are impressed would be an understatement.
“We especially admire her dissent last year in Kanter v. Barr,” he added. “Her argument that some non-violent felons should not forever lose their Second Amendment rights was totally in line with a ruling in our Third Circuit in Binderup v. Attorney General of the United States, which was successfully brought by the Second Amendment Foundation.
SAF is not alone in its praise of the nominee. The National Rifle Association said in a news release that it “fully supports President Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court. The Senate should act swiftly to confirm her.”
“Judge Barrett’s record demonstrates a steadfast commitment to the fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution,” NRA said. “With this nomination, President Trump continues his record of nominating qualified, fair-minded federal judges who respect the Bill of Rights – including the Second Amendment – to our nation’s highest court.”
The Firearms Policy Coalition weighed in, stating, “The American people deserve a strong Supreme Court majority that will do what the Constitution’s text and liberty compel. The Court must have the strength and courage to weigh in on these important issues and strike down the unjust and unconstitutional laws that separate the People from their rights, including the rights to keep and bear arms, freedom of speech, due process, and equal protection of the laws.
Gun Owners of America Senior Vice President Erich Pratt stated, “From a Second Amendment perspective, Judge Amy Coney Barrett appears to be a strong choice.”
Rick Manning, president of Americans for Limited Government noted, “President Donald Trump has fulfilled his constitutional responsibility to nominate Amy Coney Barrett for a seat on the Supreme Court. Coney Barrett is highly qualified jurist and would make an outstanding associate justice. Her background demonstrates just the kind of fortitude and judicial restraint that the American people expect from their courts.”
But there are detractors. The anti-gun Alliance for Gun Responsibility, a billionaire-backed gun prohibition lobbying group in Seattle, lamented, “All of our progress on gun violence prevention is at risk. If (Ginsburg’s)seat is filled with a Trump nominee, all our hard-won gun responsibility laws—from background checks to concealed carry restrictions—could be undone.
“This hits close to home: Initiative 1639, the voter-approved restrictions on semi-automatic assault rifles, is still being challenged in court,” the Alliance noted. “We know the law is constitutional, but an activist Supreme Court could decide otherwise, jeopardizing this lifesaving measure and so many others.”
Judge Barrett is President Trump’s third nominee to the high court, a remarkable opportunity for any president.
“We call on the Senate Judiciary Committee to give Judge Barrett a fair hearing,” Gottlieb said. “We are confident that when she is confirmed to fill the high court vacancy, Amy Coney Barrett will make this country proud.”