Gregory Craig on NRA's Involvement in Sotomayor Nomination: It Hurt

David Ingram has a post at the Blog of Legal Times on former White House Counsel to Barack Obama Gregory Craig's debriefing on the Sotomayor nomination.

After the U.S. Senate confirmed Justice Sonia Sotomayor in August, a debate began over how much influence the National Rifle Association had over the final tally of 68-31. Liberals said the NRA, which opposed Sotomayor, had failed, while conservatives said they were encouraged the gun-rights group even got involved.

Gregory Craig, who helped direct the confirmation as White House counsel, said Tuesday that the NRA opposition certainly hurt.

“I believe that Justice Sotomayor would have received many, many more votes from Republicans in the Senate if the NRA had not, out of the blue, without any warning, opposed her nomination and, with very little justification whatsoever, made the Senate vote on Sotomayor a pro-gun versus an anti-gun vote,” Craig said in a speech at Georgetown University.

As the contours of the right to bear arms continue to be established in the courts, expect the NRA to remain involved.