There’s been a fair amount of hyperbole bantered about in the 2024 election. Voters have been subjected to admonitions that former President Donald Trump is a “threat to democracy.” There have been warnings that this election could be the last free election and accusations that the military could be weaponized against political foes. These notions are laughable, but they show the depths to which political opponents will go to use fear to drive votes.
There’s one threat, however, that’s very real and one which voters have significantly affected in previous elections. That’s the composition of the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is out there reminding voters in her district – and across the nation – that should she and her fellow Democrats have their way, the Supreme Court could look radically different. That’s a threat voters shouldn’t dismiss and one in which they can have a direct impact when it comes to preserving Second Amendment rights and the ability for the firearm industry to thrive.
Target: SCOTUS
Rep. Omar is telling voters in no uncertain terms that casting ballots for her, her fellow radical extremist “Squad,” and other supportive Democrats will result in a court that’s nothing more than a rubber stamp for extremist policies. She’s telling voters, “SCOTUS reform is on the ballot in November,” according to a Fox News report. “We need to radically reform the broken Supreme Court,” she posted to social media, including promises for “expanding the number of Justices,” “a binding, enforceable code of ethics,” and “imposing term limits.”
A couple of reminders. While election rhetoric is clogging televisions, emails, and social media, it wasn’t long ago that lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate were dead serious about upending the structure of the Supreme Court. The reason? The Court wouldn’t blithely kowtow to their unconstitutional agenda. Since the lawmakers couldn’t make an end-run around the Court, their plan now is to “reimagine” it, not as a co-equal branch of government but one that’s subservient to the legislative branch’s whims.
It was only this past spring when Chief Justice John Roberts refused to entertain Senate Democrats pearl-clutching over flags flown at Justice Samuel Alito’s residences. It’s not just flags, though. Democrats targeting SCOTUS are genuinely angry over a series of rulings by the high court, some decisions that include Second Amendment rights, like the pivotal Bruen decision.
Before President Joe Biden was unceremoniously pushed out of the presidential race in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris, he told a Philadelphia audience, “The next president, they’re going to be able to appoint a couple justices, and I’ll be damned — if in fact we’re able to change some of the justices when they retire and put in really progressive judges like we’ve always had, tell me that won’t change your life.”
President Biden’s promise was to appoint progressive Justices to the Supreme Court and since Vice President Harris can’t think of anything she’d do different than the Biden administration, it’s safe to assume her potential nominees would be cut from the same left wing cloth.
These aren’t idle threats. Democrats introduced legislation in 2021 to expand the Court from nine to 13 justices, an open challenge to the Court’s 6-3 conservative majority. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told media that wasn’t wishful thinking. That is the plan should they take control of both chambers of Congress and the White House.
What’s at Stake
That plan to restructure the Supreme Court could have significant impacts on the firearm industry and Second Amendment rights. The Supreme Court agreed to hear to hear Estados Unidos Mexicanos v. Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc., et al., the $10 billion frivolous lawsuit by Mexico against U.S. firearm manufacturers that threatens the survival of the firearm industry, Second Amendment rights and the sovereignty of U.S. law within our own borders. There are other significant cases in the wings too, including challenges to state bans on modern sporting rifles and standard-capacity magazines.
A Supreme Court whose independence is threatened by lawmakers’ political special interests would be devastating. That’s why SCOTUS is on the ballot Nov. 5, along with control of Congress and the White House. Voters have already had significant impacts on the Court’s composition, when President Barack Obama nominated now-U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took a risk in the contest between former President Trump and former Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when he refused to bring that nomination up for a vote so close to the election.
President Trump won. The vacancy on the Court was filled by Justice Neil Gorsuch and later, originalist Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett were added. Garland was later confirmed as U.S. Attorney General as part of the Biden Administration and has used his perch to weaponize the Department of Justice, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) against the firearm industry.
Voters should take that threat very seriously once again. No hyperbole. No exaggeration. The proof is there in the types of justices President Trump would nominate.
A Republican majority in the Senate is critical for confirmations. A conservative majority in both chambers of Congress puts Rep. Omar’s radical Court restructuring agenda to rest.
Voters can’t afford to risk their rights. That’s why everyone who is concerned about preserving their Second Amendment rights and a flourishing firearm and ammunition industry must #GUNVOTE on Nov. 5.
Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.