The Second Amendment Context of Judge Kavanaugh’s Nomination

As you cover the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, I wanted to offer some additional context on the courts and gun safety laws.

In the landmark District of Columbia v. Heller decision in 2008, the late Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that “Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.” Since that ruling, courts across the country have consistently upheld a range of federal, state and local gun regulations, including:

• Prohibitions on the possession of firearms by people convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors
• Prohibitions on the possession of firearms by people subject to domestic violence protective orders
• Restrictions on the possession of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines

Despite these rulings, the gun lobby has shown no signs of slowing in its attempts to gut American gun laws, including through the courts. Against this high-stakes backdrop, the American people deserve to know whether Judge Kavanaugh continues to hold an outlier view of the Second Amendment that would put him at odds with most courts and the will of the American people.

More information about Judge Kavanaugh’s judicial record on guns is available here, and Everytown’s statement on last night’s nomination is available here. Everytown litigators are also available to answer questions about the overwhelming rejection from the courts in recent years of the gun lobby’s radical interpretation of the Second Amendment. To hear more, please don’t hesitate to reach out.