A stalwart when it comes to pushing tough federal gun control laws on Capitol Hill is warning that such restrictions would be at risk if Judge Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, joined with a collection of anti-gun advocates to slam Barrett last week, contending the jurist and acclaimed law professor is a "radical" when it comes to the interpretation of the Second Amendment.
“The truth of the matter is that if Amy Coney Barrett is put on the Supreme Court, Connecticut's anti-gun violence laws will be immediately at risk," said Murphy." Not just our bans on assault weapons and high capacity magazines, but our system of background checks, our system of gun permits."
Of note, Murphy supports gun bans and expanded firearm regulation of virtually all stripes, going so far as calling for guns to treated like cigarettes and mounting a 14-hour filibuster for a vote on gun control issues. He has also argued that moves such as national concealed carry reciprocity or potential suppressor deregulation would be a danger to public safety.
Why ACB controversial on guns
In her nomination hearings last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dems on the panel repeatedly grilled Barrett on her extensive dissent in the case of Kanter v. Barr, a man who was seeking to have his gun rights restored after losing them due to a non-violent felony conviction on a mail fraud charge. Barrett sided with Mr. Kanter, holding the Second Amendment didn't include a clause to bar the right to keep and bear arms to those guilty of non-violent crimes.
If confirmed to the country's high court to replace the open seat left by the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, she will likely push the Supreme Court to what is seen as a 6-3 conservative majority, or 5-4 counting out the increasingly liberal Chief Justice John Roberts, who is oft-viewed as a swing vote in recent sessions.
"She belongs to a radical strain of jurisprudence that likely believes the Second Amendment doesn't allow for any regulation of guns," said Murphy of Barrett. "And she will be joined by four other judges on the Supreme Court that likely think the same thing. It is likely that Alito and Thomas and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch also have some sort of sense of the Second Amendment similar to Amy Coney Barrett’s."
Barrett's nomination is opposed publicly by just about every anti-gun group with a web presence, ranging from large national orgs such as the Brady Campaign, Everytown, Giffords and Moms Demand Action to smaller groups like the Newtown Action Alliance and Mothers United. On the other side of the balance sheet, the Firearms Policy Coalition, National Rifle Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation, and Second Amendment Foundation have all resoundingly endorsed Barrett.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is lined up for a confirmation vote on Barrett set for Oct. 22, with a floor vote in the Senate expected to follow closely thereafter.
