Obama Nominees and the Second Amendment

Despite professing the belief that the Second Amendment confers an individual right to bear arms, Obama has a long trail of hostility to gun ownership.  But what of his potential nominees to the Court?  Dave Kopel explored Obama's previous record and reviewed a few likely nominees, including Sonya Sotomayor, for the NRA last October.

Sonia Sotomayor is a judge on the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers New York state, Connecticut and Vermont. According to Sotomayor, “the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right.” (U.S. v. Sanchez-Villar, 2004).

In summing up potential nominees Kopel wrote:

In an Obama administration, while judicial appointees, cabinet officers and the president work to destroy your gun rights, they will make sure to tell you how much they respect the Second Amendment.

With Heller having been recently decided, gun rights may play a more significant role in the confirmation of judges than it ever has before.  It is unlikely that Obama will nominate someone who properly respects the Second Amendment and the individual right it confers, but that won't stop them from trying to convince the country otherwise.  There are many blue-dog and red-state Democrats that support the right to gun ownership.  How those Democrats who support gun ownership react to such an Obama nominee remains to be seen.  I trust their constituents will let them know how they feel about the issue.