U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Sworn into office with a widely-reported gun control plan just waiting to be unleashed, Joe Biden is “committed” to act on his campaign promise to create a “bipartisan commission to study Supreme Court reforms,” according to Fox News.
If the scenario plays out, it could open the door for anti-gun Democrats to pack the high court—which now has a constitutionally-friendly majority—thus derailing potential rulings that would reverse years of erosion of the Second Amendment protection of the right to keep and bear arms.
Fox News quoted an unidentified White House official who stated, “The President remains committed to an expert study of the role and debate over reform of the court and will have more to say in the coming weeks.”
According to the Fox story, “Eight progressive organizations banded together to form the ‘Unrig the Courts’ coalition to pressure Democrats to use their power to act. Their four demands are expanding the number of justices on the Supreme Court, expanding lower federal courts, enacting term limits for Supreme Court justices and improving ethics and transparency requirements for justices.”
One of those groups calls itself “Take Back the Court.” Another is “51 for 51,” a movement to grant statehood to the District of Columbia.
Why does the federal court system need “reforming?” Because former President Donald Trump was able to fill some 200 vacancies with conservative judges and three conservative justices, whose impacts are already being felt.
The best example of this is a California case, Duncan v. Becerra. Two years ago, District Judge Roger Benitez, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled that California’s ban on so-called “high capacity magazines” is unconstitutional. Last year, in a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Benitez decision. The majority opinion was written by Judge Kenneth Lee, a Trump appointee. This is why, say many gun rights advocates, “elections matter.”
California has asked for an en banc hearing before a full panel. From there, the case could go to the Supreme Court. A victory could nullify magazine bans beyond California’s borders, and the Ninth Circuit ruling already poses a problem to anti-gun lawmakers in Washington who are currently pushing legislation to ban such magazines.
Biden’s threat to gun rights on the federal level and efforts to push more gun control at the state level underscores the critical nature of a campaign launched earlier this month by the Second Amendment Foundation that is now heading into a fourth week, thanks to what SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb says in a Thursday news release has been an “overwhelming positive reaction.”
The project is called “2nd Amendment First Responders,” a grassroots-oriented program designed to turn gun owners into gun rights activists. The recruiting advertisement will appear an addition 69 times during the first week of February. Since it began, the ad has run 119 times on more than a dozen networks.
“By the end of next week,” Gottlieb calculated, “our 60-second message will have been broadcast a total of 268 times, reaching millions of viewers. We’re able to extend our effort because of the growing positive response. It’s been astounding.”
The “2nd Amendment First Responder” recruitment message will continue airing on BBC America, Destination America, the Investigation Discovery Channel, American Heroes Channel, SYFY (Science Fiction), TLC (The Learning Channel), TruTV, DirecTV, Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, MSNBC, The Weather Channel, One America News Network, CNBC, HLN, Bloomberg, Dish TV, the Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel, SAF said.
The longer this recruiting effort continues, the more people will join. According to Gottlieb, who chatted with AmmoLand News, public support for SAF this month is twice what it was in January 2020.
“The number of new members, donors and supporters has more than doubled for this time period,” he said, “and we’re expanding staff to meet the threats against our rights. We’re excited about growing while other organizations have been reducing staff and activities.”
So, while Biden and his Democrat allies now in control on Capitol Hill are looking to press his gun control agenda, SAF is literally recruiting legions of citizen activists to stop them.
A key part of that effort, Gottlieb revealed, will be a “massive internet advertising campaign” that will soon be launched. It will reach out to millions of new gun owners who bought their first gun sometime in recent months. SAF will continue its legal action and public education efforts, thanks to this new support.
Possibly one factor in the heightened interest about SAF was the recent word from the National Rifle Association it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and reincorporating in Texas.
Gottlieb accused anti-gunners of “celebrating” NRA’s situation, but he warned the gun prohibition lobby and its allies in Congress and state legislatures, “Gun owners are engaging at record levels with organizations like the Second Amendment Foundation to fight back against billionaire-backed groups and politicians who are attempting to take away our rights.”
By the same measure, it would be ill-advised to consider the NRA on the ropes.
There is something else, and Biden owns it. If he does launch his so-called “bipartisan commission of scholars” to provide recommendations on “court reform” in 180 days—six months from now—he is going to be reminded of his remarks decades ago while serving as a senator from Delaware. At the time, as noted by Fox News, he dismissed the idea of “court-packing” as stupid.
“President Roosevelt clearly had the right to send to the United States Senate and the United States Congress a proposal to pack the court,” Biden said at the time. “It was totally within his right to do that. He violated no law. He was legalistically, absolutely correct. But it was a bonehead idea. It was a terrible, terrible mistake to make. And it put in question, if for an entire decade, the independence of the most-significant body … in this country, the Supreme Court of the United States of America.”
RELATED:
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- SAF on Offense, Launching TV Ad, Ramping Up Media Marketing
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
Honestly, I think my choice for a headline for this would have been something like, “Biden determined to politicize the judicial branch”
Interesting observation, and probably not much off the mark.
Thanks for reading and sharing.
When Oaths of office, peaceful protests, litigation, voting, writing and calling doesn’t work. Only one way to STOP TYRANTS!!!
We need to stop focusing on Biden. He is not the President. Harris and her string pullers are running things and if the sheep don’t wake up this country is going to go the way of all former great nations.
Does anyone with functioning neurons still believe that there is any justice, let alone legitimacy, in any branch of the federal government? Just asking…
Yes, there is nothing like being immersed in the swamp to fully understand what it really is.
Roy if you understand then do the right thing. You got to kill that old dog in ya so that your grandkids can love ALL people without prejudice.
Dee: Your reply just reinforces the fact that you are too stupid, ignorant, and warped to understand the subject matter. But, even with all that, you do make a good object lesson.
@Dee – Ever year of a thing called a mirror? Try looking in one and considering what you see before criticizing others.
“Conservatives” or “Trumplicans” did this to themselves. You guys should have came out hard against police brutality. Should have forcefully voiced a strong position against racial injustices and to overturn years of oppressive agendas the government has use against minorities. I believe if EVERY Trumplican start to actual support inclusion and stump out racism that the party can survive if not I say shoot that “old dog” between the eyes boomer. The train is moving. Can’t stop it. We can only change the ride experience. Who’s coming with me??
Non-systemic cases of police abuse of people of all races is not the same as racial injustice.
Also, a number of police give favorable treatment to Blacks because they don’t want to be called racist.
If you want to lower violence and poverty, go look at the prior threads regarding that topic.
Oppressive agendas like favorable treatment with respect to:
That kind of stuff?
We did all those things, in earnest. It’s just that the Liberal Democrats lie, cheat and steal. They conspired and stole 10,000,000 Votes (that’s 10 Million Dee); the Left stole a Presidential Election. Donald Trump is the real President. How about gasoline, it’s up 50 cents a gallon. Average 15 gallons a week x 50 cents =$7.50 x 52 weeks= $390 extra a year so far. I wonder if Old Joe is going to immediately give all Americans an extra $390 to make up for his enrichment of Russian and OPEC Oil Industry? Russia and OPEC first, America last Old… Read more »
Next flight to Canada departs in 10 minutes. You won’t be missed. Buh-bye!
@Superman 1 – What makes you think Canada would take him? I think @Dee needs to travel a bit so that he sees what racism really looks like. I’ve been in Canada, Europe, UK and Mexico. With possible exception of the UK, veryday racism in each of those dramatically exceeds anything I’ve ever seen in the US. From all I’ve read the rest of the world is considerably worse. No – someone else being worse does not excuse our shortcomings. Racism does exist here, but nowhere near extent @Dee thinks and impacts of systemic racism outweigh those of individual acts.… Read more »
@mm44m – @Superman 1 was suggesting that @Dee depart. If you are starting a travel fund for @Dee, if I believed he’d stay gone and that it would help – I’d contribute. As it is, I think my money is more effectively spend on FPC and FPF.
Biden is nothing more than a rusty old tool. Albeit, a dangerous one. The one to worry about is “Crazy, Drunken Nancy!” For a significant example of Biden’s scumbag principles. At the behest of one of his donors Warren Buffet who, through his Shell Company’s owns BNSF Railroad. BN is shipping Canadian oil in tank cars and charging $30.00 a barrel to do so. Also, Short Line Railway lines have to pay to use BN’s tracks. What a sweet deal for BNSF! By the way, the Keystone pipeline would charge $10.00 a barrel to transport that oil! For those of… Read more »
Agree with everything you said and also need to add Iran to the ass kissing list. I can’t wait to see the door hitting Bidens ass on his way out of the White House but I sure as hell can’t believe that using impeachment to get his ass out he door is the way to do it. Do you really think a Harris administration dictating US foreign & domestic policy would cause less damage than Biden?
So if you don’t get your way, you become a five-year-old and throw tantrums until things change. Leave it the hell alone, lefties. Things will rotate back in time. Work on other things like a balanced budget and election reforms.
Evidently that’s how it works.
If, lets say that the National Guard were obey their constitutional oath, and participate in removing this fraudulent Pres., and his CRB friends, I can’t help but feel that the Chinese army would be called in to protect them. I would hope not, but then Commie Joe, and Nancy Leprosy have always sang their praises. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but then maybe I’m not. After all I don’t believe that it was a coincidence that just before the election the Chinese government released the Wuhan virus, and now the Feds aren’t allowed to referred to the virus as coming from… Read more »
If old sleepy Joe doesn’t go along with the puppet masters with their policies, crazy Nancy will drag out the old 25th amendment and threaten to kick Joe out and put Harris in the driver seat since she is from California.
Remember last fall the house members did have a study session on the 25th amendment and I don’t believe it was for Trump.
These must be the dark days they were talking about.