Hutchison Tester Souder & Ross Will Author Amicus Brief
WASHINGTON D.C. As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to review another landmark gun rights case McDonald v. the City of Chicago Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) will lead a bipartisan bicameral amicus curiae brief asking the Supreme Court to hold the Second Amendment applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. Sen. John Tester (D-MT) Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN-3) and Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR-4) will coauthor the brief.
My colleagues and I are authoring this amicus brief so that the Supreme Court knows members of Congress will once again show Congressional intent that gun rights and the right of self-defense are individual rights guaranteed by the Constitution" said Sen. Hutchison. With its landmark decision in D.C. v. Heller the Supreme Court affirmed an individuals right to bear arms is a fundamental Constitutionally-guaranteed liberty. The Second Amendment should protect all lawful gun owners but some courts have not viewed this right as one protected from state infringement. I look forward to the Supreme Courts consideration of McDonald v. the City of Chicago so this extremely important Constitutional question regarding a fundamental individual right can be settled once and for all."
The Second Amendment guarantees gun rights for all law-abiding Americans no matter where they live" said Sen. Tester who serves as Vice Chairman of the Congressional Sportsmens Caucus. Im glad Republicans and Democrats are working together to tell the Supreme Court we expect it to stand up for our gun rights in this important case."
For years I have been an outspoken critic of Washington D.C.s gun ban and last year I helped lead the efforts in the House of Representatives to overturn it. Now as the Supreme Court prepares to hear McDonald v. City of Chicago I am glad to join this brief in support of the Second Amendment. Constitutional rightsguaranteed to all citizens of the United Statescannot be overturned by local legislation or all rights are threatened" said Rep. Souder.
Banning guns will not keep guns out of the hands of criminals but it will keep guns out of the hands of those trying to defend themselves against criminals" said Rep. Ross. The Supreme Courts recent decision in District of Columbia v. Heller affirmed the right of D.C. residents to own and bear arms and I am optimistic these same rights will be extended to the law abiding citizens of Chicago and across the United States in McDonald v. the City of Chicago. As a pro-gun Democrat I am a firm believer in the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and I will continue to actively support our right to own and bear arms."
In the lead-up to the U.S. Supreme Court hearing oral arguments on D.C. v. Heller in 2008 Sens. Hutchison and Tester and Reps. Souder and Ross authored an amicus or friend of the court" brief affirming Congress view that individual rights are guaranteed by the Second Amendment. Their brief was signed by Vice President Dick Cheney in his capacity as the President of the Senate and more members of Congress than any amicus brief in U.S. history.
On June 27 2008 the Supreme Court ruled in D.C. v. Heller that the District of Columbias gun ban was unconstitutional. However subsequent cases have attempted to circumvent the applicability of the Heller decision on the states. In McDonald v. the City of Chicago the Seventh Circuit Court ruled that Heller only applied to federal jurisdiction like the District of Columbia and not to states and municipalities.
However the Ninth Circuit Court recently ruled in the case of Nordyke v. King that the Second Amendment applies to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Supreme Court expects to hear arguments on McDonald v. the City of Chicago beginning in February 2010 with a decision anticipated in June.
