Senators say Kavanaugh Supreme Court may expand gun rights

Nominee seems to be a stronger advocate than Kennedy; case has not been taken on since 2010

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s views on gun rights may push the court to expand Second Amendment protections, say senators and activists on both sides of the debate.

A 2011 Kavanaugh opinion, arguing for striking down the District of Columbia’s assault-weapons ban, suggests that he would be a stronger gun-rights advocate than the justice President Donald Trump has chosen him to replace, Anthony Kennedy.

“Judge Kavanaugh is the worst nightmare for any advocate of common-sense gun violence prevention,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. “Any measure preventing gun violence is at risk if it’s Justice Kavanaugh.”

Where Democrats are fearful, progun conservatives are optimistic that a Supreme Court with Kavanaugh in place of Kennedy would expand gun rights. The court hasn’t taken up a gun-rights case since 2010, and it has bypassed numerous chances to do so despite calls from some conservative justices.

“If some state has banned semi-automatic weapons, they could rule that the Second Amendment trumps that state law,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “Once the case gets there, I hope he’ll listen to both sides of the story. Is he more conservative than Justice Kennedy on some issues? I think so.”

“This was all part of an election. President Trump said he would put constitutional conservative judges who would protect the Second Amendment. That’s what he’s doing,” Graham said.

The National Rifle Association’s top lobbyist Chris Cox praised Kavanaugh as an “outstanding choice” with “an impressive record that demonstrates his strong support for the Second Amendment.” The NRA has argued that bans on semi-automatic rifles, along with minimum age requirements and waiting periods for firearm sales, are unconstitutional.

At the center of the conversation is Kavanaugh’s 2011 dissenting opinion that said he would strike down the District of Columbia ban on some assault weapons and a requirement that all firearms be registered. A 2-1 majority upheld the assault-rifle ban and some of the registration rules.

Kavanaugh said he sympathized with the intent of the measures, but said that “the Supreme Court has long made clear that the Constitution disables the government from employing certain means to prevent, deter or detect violent crime.”