Sen. Harry Reid is “twisting arms” to get his colleagues to approve the nomination of Caitlin Halligan, “one of the most anti-gun judicial nominees in recent memory,” Gun Owners of America warned its members today in a nationwide alert.
“[O]ne Senate Republican said that she is the most ‘anti-Second Amendment nominee Obama has ever put forward,’” the alert elaborated.
“As New York’s Solicitor General, Halligan was one of the chief lawyers responsible for New York’s baseless and politically motivated efforts to bankrupt gun manufacturers using frivolous litigation,” the alert continued. “Halligan called for ‘handgun manufacturers [to be held] liable for criminal acts committed with handguns.’
“After attempts of legal extortion of the firearms industry were repudiated by a bipartisan vote in Congress, Halligan’s office did not let up on attacking gun rights, signing a legal brief calling for New York courts to declare the federal Gun Makers’ Protection Act unconstitutional,” GOA stated. “Finally, Halligan, in written testimony submitted to the Senate in connection with her nomination, attempted to conceal the extent of her anti-gun animus.”
The usual “progressive” anti-gun activist outlets, from Media Matters to Think Progress to The New York Times are out there crying “smear job” and offering apologia for Halligan’s past legal subversion of the right to keep and bear arms, and of course, painting NRA as the central villain in obstructing her confirmation.
That’s in spite of the fact that it’s GOA that’s putting out an alert to stop Halligan's confirmation. It’s not even clear if NRA will score a confirmation vote against senators. They did not indicate that would be the case when they opposed her nomination in 2011
One group that will score a confirmation vote is the Committee for Justice, which also issued an alert today advising “Perhaps Democrats believe that their campaign for increased gun control makes Halligan look a little less extreme this time around. To the contrary, we suspect it has made GOP senators more sensitive to the Second Amendment records of judicial nominees who, if confirmed, will determine the constitutionality of any new gun laws.
“One exception may be South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham, who voted ‘pass’ when Halligan was voted out of the Judiciary Committee last month,” they advise. “Another exception may be Lisa Murkowski, the only Republican to vote for cloture on Halligan the last time around. Identifying other weak points among GOP senators is more speculative, but we’re guessing that John McCain (AZ), Lamar Alexander (TN), Susan Collins (ME), and Mark Kirk (IL) could use some reminding about the importance of stopping Halligan.
“Call (202) 224-3121 to be connected with any Senate office,” they urge.
Going one step further, GOA asks members and supporters to “Click here to contact and demand that your U.S. Senators oppose the Caitlin Halligan nomination to the DC Court of Appeals and support ANY and ALL efforts to filibuster her nomination.”
Reid’s support for Halligan is hardly surprising to those who have watched his maneuverings ever since NRA did not outright endorse him (and conveniently did not support his opponent who had a superior rating) the last time he ran for reelection. In spite of the fact that Wayne LaPierre called Reid “a true champion of the Second Amendment” at a sports center (while he actually disparaged its ultimate meaning in campaign ads), Reid has found new friends he can turn to, like New York’s anti-gun Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
With his latest “arm twisting” on behalf of yet another in a long line of Obama administration anti-gunners to include Eric Holder, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, the GOA alert’s observation that “He and President Obama are doing what they can to pack the Appeals Courts with radical leftists” is a pretty good indicator for what he’s always been a true champion of.
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