Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Justice Ginsburg Once Again Shares Her Intent to Overturn Heller

Friday, July 15, 2016

Justice Ginsburg Once Again Shares Her Intent to Overturn Heller

This past week, Associate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg gave a series of controversial interviews for which she has received nearly universal condemnation, even from the usually-fawning establishment press. Most of the headlines focused on Ginsburg’s derogatory statements regarding presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. However, just as important were comments signaling her intent to overturn the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. Ginsburg signed onto Justice John Paul Stevens and Justice Stephen Breyer’s dissents in Heller and Breyer’s dissent in McDonald v. Chicago, which applied Heller’s protections to the actions of state and local governments.

The write-up of an interview Ginsburg gave to the New York Times contained the following:

[Ginsburg] mulled whether the court could revisit its 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which effectively struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act. She said she did not see how that could be done.

The court’s 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, establishing an individual right to own guns, may be another matter, she said.

“I thought Heller was “a very bad decision,” she said, adding that a chance to reconsider it could arise whenever the court considers a challenge to a gun control law.

Curiously, the New York Times later significantly altered the part of their story pertaining to Ginsburg’s remarks on Heller, as pointed out by Jonathan Adler of the Volokh Conspiracy. The altered version removed the portion regarding Ginsburg’s contention that “a chance to reconsider [Heller] could arise whenever the court considers a challenge to a gun control law.” The Times eventually restored the missing portion of the story, but did not provide a satisfactory reason for the alteration.

This is not the first time that Ginsburg has shared her desire to overturn Heller. On December 17, 2009, Ginsburg delivered a lecture titled “The Role of Dissenting Opinions” to the Harvard Club of Washington, D.C., a version of which was later published in the Minnesota Law Review. In the lecture, Ginsburg described Stevens and Breyer’s dissents in Heller as “appealing to the intelligence of a future day.” Insultingly, Ginsburg listed the - in her view incorrect - Heller decision, which recognized a fundamental right, alongside the notorious Dred Scott v. Sanford decision, which extinguished the rights of African Americans.

Ginsburg is wrong in her opposition to Heller’s recognition that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. There is an abundance of resources firmly establishing that the framers of the Bill of Rights intended the Second Amendment to protect an individual right. Those seeking to learn more about the proper interpretation of the Second Amendment would do well to start by reading Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion in Heller, NRA’s amicus brief from Heller, the “Right to Keep and Bear Arms” report of the U.S. Senate Judiciary’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, and The Founders’ Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms by Stephen P. Halbrook.

By insulting Trump, Ginsburg revealed her obvious preference for Hillary Clinton. While inappropriate, this is a fitting endorsement, as there is every indication that Ginsburg’s preferred candidate is on board with her plans to overturn Heller.

Clinton, or her surrogates, have repeatedly indicated that Clinton seeks to overturn Heller. At a September 25, 2015 fundraiser held at a private residence in Manhattan, Clinton expressed her disdain for Heller. An audio recording captured Clinton stating, “the Supreme Court is wrong on the Second Amendment. And I am going to make that case every chance I get.”

On May 7, Trump accurately told his supporters that “Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment.” In a failed attempt to refute the presumptive Republican nominee’s comments, Clinton campaign spokesman Josh Schwerin admitted that Clinton “believes Heller was wrongly decided…”

On May 30, New York Magazine published an article that gave an account of a Clinton campaign event in Bridgeport, Conn. During a meeting with a family who suffered the loss of a loved in the shooting in Newtown, Conn., Clinton explained that she has already made plans for gun control with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and stated that Heller was “a terrible decision.”

Following a public outcry that spanned the political spectrum, Ginsburg offered something of an apology for her foray into political punditry, acknowledging that “Judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office.” While Ginsburg's recent outburst is unbecoming of a Supreme Court justice, it has provided a valuable public service. Ginsburg has made it perfectly clear to the American people, that with the next president likely to appoint multiple Supreme Court justices, their constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms is on the line.

TRENDING NOW
Nancy Pelosi: Pro-Gun Voters Made an Impact

News  

Monday, November 18, 2024

Nancy Pelosi: Pro-Gun Voters Made an Impact

Congratulations NRA members and other pro-gun voters! Once again, our votes helped make the difference.

Gulfport City Council Votes to Create "Gun-Free Zone" for Law-Abiding Citizens

Friday, November 22, 2024

Gulfport City Council Votes to Create "Gun-Free Zone" for Law-Abiding Citizens

This week, the Gulfport City Council voted 4-3 to ban law-abiding citizens who legally open carry from bringing firearms into City Council Chambers during a public meeting. They also approved intrusive security measures, including wanding ...

Make Crime Illegal Again

News  

Monday, November 18, 2024

Make Crime Illegal Again

While less prominent than the red sweep of the nation’s electoral map and the triumph of President Donald Trump, another telling development following the 2024 elections was the number of Californians in ultra-progressive strongholds who ...

Federal District Court Strikes Down IL’s “Assault Weapon” and “Large-Capacity Magazine” Bans in NRA-Supported Case

Saturday, November 9, 2024

Federal District Court Strikes Down IL’s “Assault Weapon” and “Large-Capacity Magazine” Bans in NRA-Supported Case

Today, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois struck down provisions of the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) that prohibit “assault weapons” and “large-capacity magazines” in an NRA-supported case, Barnett v. Raoul.

Bloomberg’s Mayors, Back in the News!

News  

Monday, November 18, 2024

Bloomberg’s Mayors, Back in the News!

Just a few short weeks ago, we wrote about Michael Bloomberg’s controversy-dogged gun control organization, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), and how another high-ranking member of the group had been indicted for allegedly committing serious ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief Arguing that Washington’s Magazine Ban Violates the Second Amendment

Friday, November 15, 2024

NRA Files Amicus Brief Arguing that Washington’s Magazine Ban Violates the Second Amendment

Today, NRA filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the State of Washington in a challenge to Washington’s prohibition on magazines that hold over 10 rounds.

Missouri: AG Bailey Intervenes on County’s Assault on the Second Amendment

Friday, November 22, 2024

Missouri: AG Bailey Intervenes on County’s Assault on the Second Amendment

Missouri’s Attorney General Andrew Bailey took immediate action to stop the erosion of the Second Amendment by a County Commission bent on restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens who either reside or traverse within its ...

Pro-Second Amendment Bills Pre-Filed For Texas' 2025 Legislative Session

Friday, November 22, 2024

Pro-Second Amendment Bills Pre-Filed For Texas' 2025 Legislative Session

Last week your NRA reported on a laundry list of extreme anti-Second Amendment bills pre-filed in advance of the 2025 Texas legislative session, including red flag gun confiscation schemes, bans on private firearms transfers, limits ...

NRA Scores Legal Victory Against ATF; “Pistol Brace Rule” Enjoined From Going Into Effect Against NRA Members

Monday, April 1, 2024

NRA Scores Legal Victory Against ATF; “Pistol Brace Rule” Enjoined From Going Into Effect Against NRA Members

NRA Members Among the Largest Class Protected from Draconian Rule

Kamala for Gun Confiscation: In Her Own Words

News  

Monday, September 16, 2024

Kamala for Gun Confiscation: In Her Own Words

During the September 10 presidential debate, President Donald Trump correctly highlighted Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s support for gun confiscation. A visibly defensive Harris claimed, “We're not taking anybody's guns away. So stop with the ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.