Monday, July 13, 2009

Michigan AG on gun rights

From an op-ed by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, on his signing of the amicus brief in support of Second Amendment incorporation:
The Free Press editorialized Wednesday -- "Your taxes at work for the NRA (and Cox)" -- against my filing of a legal brief with the U.S. Supreme Court that supports the National Rifle Association's challenge of a Chicago ordinance banning the possession of most handguns.

My support for this challenge to the Chicago gun ban is rooted in Michigan's own Constitution, which states: "Every person has a right to keep and bear arms for the defense of himself and the state."

My defense of this constitutional principle is longstanding. In 2007, I filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in opposition to the District of Columbia's drastic ban on guns, arguing that the Second Amendment's right "to keep and bear arms" is an individual right. The Supreme Court agreed with that position and overturned the D.C. ban in its Heller decision.

The Free Press failed to mention that 34 attorneys general signed on to the NRA's challenge of Chicago's strict gun ban, including both Democrats and Republicans. This isn't about politics; it's about standing up for principle. ...

Op-ed here.

No comments: