Attorney General Beau Biden, Rep. Mike Castle, Senators Ted Kaufman and Tom Carper did not sign similar briefs
By Lee Williams
Nearly 1,000 lawmakers from all 50 states – including 21 Delawareans – have signed a “friend of the court” brief supporting the National Rifle Association’s position that an individual’s rights to keep and bear arms, guaranteed in the Second Amendment, should be incorporated against the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.
“It’s vitally important that elected officials protect the Constitution, and you can’t pick and choose the parts of the Constitution you like or don’t like,” Sen. Colin Bonini, R-Dover South, said of his decision to sign the NRA’s brief.
“Regardless of how people feel about firearms, the Constitution clearly protects an individual’s right to own firearms,” Bonini said. “As legislators, we took an oath to defend the Constitution.”
The NRA’s brief was filed Monday with the Supreme Court in the case of McDonald v. City of Chicago.
“We are pleased that such a large group of state legislators and other officials agree that our Second Amendment freedoms should apply to all Americans, not only those who reside in federal enclaves,” NRA Chief Lobbyist Chris W. Cox said in a written statement. “Gun owners across the country should be proud of the stand that their lawmakers are taking on this crucial effort to restore and protect the gun rights of law-abiding Americans everywhere.”
In 2008, the Supreme Court struck down Washington D.C.’s near total handgun ban in the landmark case District of Columbia v. Heller. The justices found that the right to bear arms granted in the Second Amendment is an individual right.
However, since the District is a federal enclave, the court still had to consider whether the Second Amendment protections applied outside of D.C.
Now in McDonald, the court will determine whether the Second Amendment protections are incorporated against the states and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.
The case was spawned by Chicago’s restrictive gun laws, including a near-total handgun ban, which have been in effect for 27 years.
The court’s decision could force many jurisdictions to change or remove their firearms laws and restrictions.
Dover attorney John Sigler, a CRI board member and immediate past-president of the NRA, said in Heller, the Supreme Court found that the Second Amendment protections that provide an individual the right to keep and bear arms predate the formation of our country.
“It was merely codified by the founders in the Second Amendment so that future generations would not forget this fact,” Sigler said. “In addition, the Supreme Court in Heller recognized the fundamental right of all human beings to self defense.”
Because the District of Columbia is a federal enclave, Sigler pointed out, the impact of the case was limited.
“The McDonald case presents to the court the question of whether the right to keep and bear arms contained in the Second Amendment is like the right to free speech, the right to a free press, the right to a jury trial, prohibitions against unlawful search and seizure, that are all applicable to the states, in protecting the fundamental rights so well understood by the founding fathers,” Sigler said.
The impact of the decision in Delaware may not be as great as in other states and jurisdictions, because of safeguards incorporated into the state constitution.
“Having said that, it is entirely possible that Chicago, New York, San Francisco and many of the states of the union – particularly New Jersey – could find many of their gun laws to be unconstitutional because they infringe upon the rights of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms for lawful purposes,” Sigler said.
The amicus curiae brief signed by the state lawmakers was accompanied by a similar brief submitted by 251 members of the U.S. Congress and 58 U.S. Senators.
In addition, 38 attorneys general have signed a brief supporting the NRA’s position.
Neither Attorney General Beau Biden nor any member of Delaware’s congressional delegation signed these briefs.
Biden did not immediately return calls seeking comment for this story.
Sen. Joseph Booth, R-Bridgeville, first learned of the McDonald case from the NRA.
“I support the NRA. They don’t take elected officials down the wrong road,” Booth said. “There’s an old adage where they talk about SUVs killing people. It’s actually people in operation of a motor vehicle, or in operation of a gun, where we have concerns.”
Signing the brief were: Delaware Auditor of Accounts R. Thomas Wagner, Jr., State Senators Bruce Ennis, Colin Bonini, Gary Simpson and Joseph Booth, State Representatives Tom Kovach, Richard Cathcart, Robert Gilligan, Michael Ramone, William Carson, Pam Thornburg, William Outten, E. Bradford Bennett, Robert Walls, David Wilson, V. George Carey, Ruth Briggs King, Gerald Hocker, Daniel Short, Clifford Lee and John Atkins.
Contact investigative reporter Lee Williams at (302) 242-9272 or lee@caesarrodney.org
The Caesar Rodney Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan research and educational organization and is committed to being a catalyst for improved performance, accountability, and efficiency in Delaware government.
It is great to see elected officals from around the country publically defend the 2nd Amendment! It’s about time!
I think elected officials (and the American public in general) have a very blase view of the 2nd amendment and in particular gun ownership. The laws start with the lawmakers, so if you’re not going out there to vote on the issues that are important to you – do so!