Sotomayor Nomination an Obama Slap at Second Amendment

The nomination of Second Circuit Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring

Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court is a slap at gun rights and the

Second Amendment, generic the Second Amendment Foundation said today.

Judge

Sotomayor, cost a New York native, ruled on a Second Circuit Appeals Court panel that

the Second Amendment is not a fundamental right and does not apply to the states

in the case of Maloney v. Cuomo. This ruling is in direct conflict with a Ninth

Circuit Court ruling in the Nordyke v. King case in California that the Second

Amendment is incorporated through the due process clause of the Fourteenth

Amendment.

“While Democrats in Congress have been making great strides in

the gun rights arena, refusing to consider a renewal of the Clinton gun ban, and

offering overwhelming bipartisan support for legislation allowing citizens to

carry firearms in national parks, President Obama just demonstrated that he

prefers judges who oppose Second Amendment rights,” said SAF founder Alan M.

Gottlieb.
Incorporation may be taken up by the high court during its next session

beginning in October, because attorneys in the Maloney case plan to appeal in

late June.

“If the Maloney appeal is accepted by the Supreme Court,”

Gottlieb wondered, “would Justice Sotomayor – provided she is confirmed – recuse

herself from deliberations?”

Judge Sotomayor has written an opinion that

declined to order the release of certain information under the Freedom of

Information Act. In one case, according to SCOTUSblog, she wrote that the

“unwarranted invasion of privacy” for individuals whose names would be release

under an FOIA request outweighed the public interest.

“Would a Justice

Sotomayor be just as protective of the privacy rights of concealed carry permit

holders if a newspaper wanted to publish that information,” Gottlieb asked. “We

hope that during Senate confirmation hearings, someone asks about her positions

on incorporation and the privacy rights of gun owners. The Second Amendment

needs to be expanded, not eviscerated.”

For more information email: InformationRequest@saf.org