The ritual hazing of Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett continues today and this afternoon it featured her defense of an opinion she wrote in the case of Kanter v. Barr. Judge Barrett’s take was that non-violent felons (this one was convicted of mail fraud) do not forfeit their right to armed self defense under the Second Amendment.
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin is HORRIFIED by that. He said he’s worried that Barrett’s opinion could result in thousands of mail fraudsters bringing firearms into his otherwise serene and peaceful home town.
Fromt he AP:
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is defending an opinion she wrote arguing that a person who’s convicted of a nonviolent felony should not automatically be disqualified from owning a gun.
Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois challenged Barrett’s argument, saying it would make it easier for felons to bring guns into his home city of Chicago, which is plagued by gun violence caused in part by guns brought in from Barrett’s home state of Indiana.
In a dissent in the 2019 gun rights case of Kanter v. Barr, Barrett argued a conviction for a nonviolent felony such as mail fraud was not enough to disqualify someone from owning a gun.
Durbin accused Barrett of judicial activism, noting a Supreme Court ruling by Barrett’s mentor, the late Justice Antonin Scalia, upheld the idea that felons can be barred from gun ownership.
If you think Durbin and the rest of the committee Dems were upset by that, you can imagine their reaction when, earlier in the day, Judge Barrett let it be known that she’s a gun owner.
Amy Coney Barrett says she owns a gun, but could fairly judge a case on gun rights https://t.co/OvxljdmxJe pic.twitter.com/czu8cE0nNj
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 13, 2020
