Washington Times: Kagan's Snowe Job on Gun Rights

The Washington Times had an editorial today on Senator Olympia Snowe's (R-ME) support of Elena Kagan to be the newest Supreme Court Justice. She based part of her support for Kagan on the Second Amendment.

Snowe's office sent out a press release announcing her support for Kagan that said, in part,

“Also, she has affirmed forcefully that adherence to Court precedent is a vital command for the Court. And in that light, in my view as a longtime, ardent supporter of Second Amendment rights, it was critical that General Kagan stated during her testimony that the precedents set by the Supreme Court in the Heller and McDonald cases – which upheld a personal right to possess a firearm -- are ‘deeply rooted in this nation's history and traditions’ and are ‘settled law;’ that she has ‘absolutely no reason to think that the court's analysis was incorrect in any way;’ and, that she will apply these cases as law ‘going forward.’”

As the Washington Times notes, "We've been down this road before" with Justice Sonia Sotomayor and her contention that the Second Amendment was settled law.

Once the "wise Latina" donned the robes of her lifetime office, any pretense of upholding the individual's right to bear arms was jettisoned. Ms. Sotomayor signed onto the gun rights dissent of Justice Stephen G. Breyer last month, which stated, "I can find nothing in the Second Amendment's text, history or underlying rationale that could warrant characterizing it as 'fundamental' insofar as it seeks to protect the keeping and bearing of arms for private self-defense purposes."

The editorial examines Kagan's past statements regarding guns and the Second Amendment. They think her "new" statements were nothing more than a means to provide cover to "squishy" Republicans - or what the rest of the world would call RINO's. The editors think Kagan will follow the same path as Sotomayor when, and if, Second Amendment cases reach the Supreme Court - lipservice now, knife in the back later.

They conclude that,

No senator, Democrat or Republican, can claim he supports gun ownership and then turn around and elevate someone to the nation's highest court who will work to undermine the fundamental nature of the Second Amendment. A vote for Ms. Kagan is a vote for a nominee who will join with Justices Breyer and Sotomayor to scale back - and try to eliminate - the individual's right to gun ownership.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the Senate's confirmation of Elena Kagan, the old saying, "As Maine goes, so goes the Nation" is probably correct. A filibuster cannot stop her now.