Amy Barrett Defends The Second Amendment Rights Of Nonviolent Offenders During Confirmation Hearing
Amy Barrett's confirmation hearing entered the second day with the SCOTUS nominee defending firearm ownership for nonviolent felons. Democrats challenged her constitutionalist approach to gun rights.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) confronted Barrett, accusing her of judicial activism. Durbin added that Barrett's recommendation would enable felons in Chicago to acquire firearms more easily than they would in Barrett's home state of Indiana. Chicago has a crime problem, and gun-control activists and the mayor blame the neighboring states, a claim that has been disputed by illegal firearm confiscation statistics. The Democrat pointed out that Barrett's mentor, Justice Antonin Scalia, also agreed with the disarmament of felons.
Barrett argued in her 2019 dissent in Kanter v. Barr that a nonviolent convict should not automatically lose their second amendment rights.
"History is consistent with common sense: it demonstrates that legislatures have the power to prohibit dangerous people from possessing guns," Justice Barrett argued.
"But that power extends only to dangerous people. Founding legislatures did not strip felons of the right to bear arms simply because of their status as felons."
We unapologetically agree with Barrett's assertion that Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes should not automatically lose their second amendment rights.
Besides, Democrats have been campaigning to restore the voting rights of all felons, mostly in Blue states. However, they oppose the restoration of gun rights to nonviolent offenders because the party does not benefit politically.
There is no data linking nonviolent offenders with gun-related crimes, indicating that such individuals were not a public safety risk. Similarly, the founding fathers did not create a provision for denying nonviolent offenders their second amendment rights.
We strongly agree that the restoration of constitutional rights should be based on the individuals' risk, rather than their status.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is pushing universal background checks in our state, and if left unchecked, it will not be long until we see bills like this getting traction in Austin. Texas is embarrassingly ranked 29th for gun rights, and with the help of the political elites in Austin, we will surely rank among New York, California, and Illinois if left to their own devices. Please join our fight today, and help us restore Texas' place as the standard for the U.S.
Join LSGR - https://www.lsgr.live/join
Sign our petition - https://www.lsgr.live/petition
Send a postcard to Dan Patrick - https://www.lsgr.live/store/Postcard-to-Lt-Gov-Patrick-p158378407
