Majority of Congress Stands Against D.C. Gun Ban
Update: Senator Mrk Pryor's staff responded to our request and provided his reason for not signing this brief, "This is a separation of powers issue for Senate Pryor. He has not and will not sign on Amicus briefs to federal courts. " Please review the comments for this post to read the complete response. We were impressed by Senator Pryor's constitutional basis for his decision and will take note of his continuance of his policy in the future.
Members to File Friend-of-the-Court Brief in 2nd Amendment Case Before Justices.
by Robert Barnes, Washington Post: A majority of the Senate and more than half of the members of the House will file a brief today urging the Supreme Court to uphold a ruling that the District's handgun ban violates the Second Amendment. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), who led the effort to file the friend-of-the-court brief, said her staff could not find another instance in which such a large portion of Congress had taken a position on an issue before the court. "This court should give due deference to the repeated findings over different historical epochs by Congress, a co-equal branch of government, that the amendment guarantees the personal right to possess firearms," their brief contends. "The District's prohibitions on mere possession by law-abiding persons of handguns in the home and having usable firearms there are unreasonable." . . . All Senate Republicans except three . . . signed on to the brief. Nine Democratic senators . . . joined the effort. The total was 55 senators and 250 House members, 68 of whom were Democrats. . . . [Read More] See also: Names that signed the brief supporting 2nd Amendment Rights
ARRA Editor's Comment: All of the Arkansas delegation signed except for Rep. Vic Snyder and Sen. Mark Pryor. Yes, Sen. Blanche Lincoln signed the brief. The absence of Sen. Mark Pryor's signature was disappointing; we hope he will comment on why he did not sign this brief. Rep. Vic Snyder's failure to sign is continued evidence of his failure to understand and represent Arkansan values. Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain signed the brief. Democrat presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama and the Democrat leadership in the House and Senate did NOT support individual gun owner rights.
Tags: Arkansas, gun ban, gun rights, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Members to File Friend-of-the-Court Brief in 2nd Amendment Case Before Justices.
by Robert Barnes, Washington Post: A majority of the Senate and more than half of the members of the House will file a brief today urging the Supreme Court to uphold a ruling that the District's handgun ban violates the Second Amendment. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), who led the effort to file the friend-of-the-court brief, said her staff could not find another instance in which such a large portion of Congress had taken a position on an issue before the court. "This court should give due deference to the repeated findings over different historical epochs by Congress, a co-equal branch of government, that the amendment guarantees the personal right to possess firearms," their brief contends. "The District's prohibitions on mere possession by law-abiding persons of handguns in the home and having usable firearms there are unreasonable." . . . All Senate Republicans except three . . . signed on to the brief. Nine Democratic senators . . . joined the effort. The total was 55 senators and 250 House members, 68 of whom were Democrats. . . . [Read More] See also: Names that signed the brief supporting 2nd Amendment Rights
ARRA Editor's Comment: All of the Arkansas delegation signed except for Rep. Vic Snyder and Sen. Mark Pryor. Yes, Sen. Blanche Lincoln signed the brief. The absence of Sen. Mark Pryor's signature was disappointing; we hope he will comment on why he did not sign this brief. Rep. Vic Snyder's failure to sign is continued evidence of his failure to understand and represent Arkansan values. Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain signed the brief. Democrat presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama and the Democrat leadership in the House and Senate did NOT support individual gun owner rights.
Tags: Arkansas, gun ban, gun rights, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 12:37 PM - Post Link
2 Comments:
Interesting move on the part of KayB. Sounds like she is trying to make sure that she is seen as a true conservative before she comes back to Texas for her next gig.
As far Hillary and Barack, no surprise there. You can take that vote to the bank.
Response provided by email:
Thanks for the opportunity to respond. Here is Senator Pryor’s position on amicus briefs.
“This is a separation of powers issue for Senate Pryor. He has not and will not sign on Amicus briefs to federal courts. It is the Senate’s responsibility to confirm federal judges and we ask them not to legislate from the bench but to use their best judgment when interpreting law. Conversely, Senator Pryor does not believe that senators should try to make judicial rulings from the senate. He feels that writing judges and telling them what to do or how to rule steps across the line between our three separate but equal branches of government. If he disagrees with a particular ruling then the appropriate course of action would be for Congress to act. In short, he believes that senators make laws and courts should interpret the laws, as was intended by the framers. In this case as with every case, he is willing to let the courts do their work and if he disagrees with their ruling then he’ll look at a legislative fix. Senator Pryor firmly believes in an individual’s right to bear arms.”
Feel free to contact me anytime.
Michael Teague
Office of Senator Mark Pryor
501-324-6336
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