The swiftness with which some of the nation’s leading gun prohibition lobbying groups threw their full support behind the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace retiring Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer was enough to raise alarms among gun rights advocates.
Quickly out of the gate with praise for Joe Biden’s nomination were anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action. In addition, according to AmmoLand News, the Giffords Law Center—an offshoot of Giffords, the gun control group founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords and her husband—also “lauded the nomination.”
In a prepared statement, Giffords noted, “The Supreme Court interpretations of the Second Amendment define the role that guns play in American life. Currently pending before the Court is a case concerning the carrying of guns in public spaces, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. While Judge Jackson will not join the Court until after it has issued its decision in Bruen, numerous additional gun cases are in the litigation pipeline and may come before the Court in future terms.”
Everytown posted a statement on its website quoting top gun control proponents:
“President Biden has governed as the strongest gun safety president in history, and we have every confidence that Judge Jackson will employ a mainstream, commonsense reading of the Second Amendment,” saidJohn Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “We applaud President Biden for nominating the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, and urge the Senate to answer the call of history and confirm her without delay.”
“President Biden not only made history nominating the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, but he’s also nominated someone who we are confident will determine that common sense gun safety laws are constitutional,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “Our grassroots army of volunteers across the country were proud to help elect the strongest gun safety administration in history, and today’s nomination shows the importance of that work. We look forward to supporting Judge Jackson’s nomination and call on the Senate to swiftly confirm her.”
Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association issued its own perspective on the Jackson nomination: “Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has never affirmed that the Second Amendment protects the individual, fundamental right of all Americans to keep and bear arms for the defense of themselves or others. Consequently, the NRA is concerned with President Biden’s decision to nominate her to the Supreme Court of the United States at a crucial time when there are vital cases that will determine the scope and future of the Second Amendment and self-defense rights in our country. As we always do, the NRA will monitor her statements during the confirmation process and advise our members accordingly.”
