Conservative Views on Supreme Court Ruling on 2nd Amendment

The mainstream media won't provide readers with all the conservative viewpoints that will be issued today regarding the Supreme Court's ruling on the 2nd Amendment.

So in the interest of offering Travis Monitor readers with additional viewpoints, we'll find and post various reactions in their unedited versions:

Ted Cruz says "McDonald v. Chicago Decision “Major Victory” for Gun Rights"

HOUSTON—Former Texas Solicitor Ted Cruz, a leading Second Amendment advocate, made the following statement Monday regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McDonald v. Chicago. Cruz’s efforts in defense of gun rights played a significant role in laying the groundwork for the decision:

“Today’s ruling is a major victory for our constitutional right to keep and bear arms. It is yet another important step toward protecting the Second Amendment across the nation. With fidelity to the intent of the Framers, the Supreme Court rightly held that the Second Amendment -- just like the rest of the Bill of Rights -- protects each and every American.”

Background on Ted’s Second Amendment expertise:

• Ted is best known for his work with the NRA in DC v. Heller, assembling an impressive and diverse coalition of 31 States behind an amicus brief in which he explicitly argued that the Second Amendment should be incorporated against every State in the Union.

• In addition, Ted also drafted amicus briefs in both Parker (known as Heller when it reached the Supreme Court) and in Seegers (a companion case brought by the NRA) and presented oral argument before the D.C. Circuit for the amici States in Seegers.

• Before defending the Second Amendment as Texas Solicitor General, Ted was responsible for all issues concerning gun rights as Domestic Policy Advisor to President George W. Bush during the 2000 campaign.

• Ted’s work extends beyond our highest tribunals into the court of public opinion as well. He fought for the Second Amendment on the Newshour with Jim Lehrer and has debated the leading anti-rights scholars before the New York Bar Association and the National Association of Appellate Court Attorneys. He has been published in the Wall Street Journal arguing for an individual right to keep and bear arms (republished by NRA in America’s 1st Freedom) and spoke at the NRA Annual Firearms Seminar in May 2009.

Supporting links:
Cruz interview on Newshour:
Cruz-led brief on DC v Heller

This from the NRA:

National Rifle Association Hails Historic Victory on Second Amendment Freedom in McDonald v. City of Chicago


Fairfax, Va. -- The National Rifle Association of America today praised the U.S. Supreme Court's historic decision in another landmark Second Amendment case. In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that the Second Amendment applies not just to Washington, D.C. and other federal enclaves, but protects the rights of all Americans throughout the country. The opinion in McDonald v. City of Chicago brings an end to the nearly 30 year-long handgun ban that the city has imposed on its law-abiding citizens.

“This is a landmark decision,” said NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. “The Second Amendment -- as every citizen's constitutional right -- is now a real part of American constitutional law. The NRA will work to ensure this constitutional victory is not transformed into a practical defeat by activist judges defiant city councils or cynical politicians who seek to pervert, reverse or nullify the Supreme Court's McDonald decision through Byzantine labyrinths of restrictions and regulations that render the Second Amendment inaccessible, unaffordable or otherwise impossible to experience in a practical, reasonable way.”

As a party to the case, the NRA participated in oral arguments before the Court in March. The NRA persuasively argued that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment and that handgun bans, like those in the City of Chicago and the Village of Oak Park, are unconstitutional under any standard of judicial review. This same view was shared in friend of the court briefs by a bipartisan group of 309 members of Congress from both chambers, 38 state attorneys general, and hundreds of state legislators. Public opinion polls show that it is also shared by the overwhelming majority of the American people.

“This decision makes absolutely clear that the Second Amendment protects the God-given right of self-defense for all law-abiding Americans, period,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA chief lobbyist. “Ironically, while crime in Chicago runs rampant and lawmakers there call on the National Guard for help, Mayor Daley has insisted on leaving the residents of his city defenseless. Today's opinion puts the law back on the side of the law-abiding. We will be watching closely to make sure that Chicago abides by both the letter and the spirit of the Supreme Court's decision.”