The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) expressed its strong support this week for President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington D.C. to become an Association Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a statement. Kavanaugh would take the seat of retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.
“We are pleased to lend our support to President Trump’s nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and urge the Senate to approve his nomination before the next term begins on the first Monday in October,” said Lawrence Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. “We are confident that Judge Kavanaugh will serve our nation with distinction as an Associate Justice of our nation’s highest court and that he will make decisions that will serve to protect the Second Amendment and other Constitutionally guaranteed rights of law-abiding Americans.”
Since the nomination was announced on Monday night, Kavanaugh has come under scrutiny in the press for endorsing “robust views of the powers of the president, consistently siding with arguments in favor of broad executive authority during his 12 years one the bench in Washington,” according to The Washington Post.
His past indicates a strong support for gun rights and the Second Amendment.
“President Trump has made another outstanding choice in nominating Brett Kavanaugh for the U.S. Supreme Court. He has an impressive record that demonstrates his strong support for the Second Amendment,” said Chris W. Cox, Executive Director, NRA-ILA in a post on the website of the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association.
“We urge the Senate to swiftly confirm Judge Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, just as it confirmed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit,” he added.
The Post says, “Kavanaugh has staked out conservative positions in cases involving gun rights, abortion and the separation of powers.”
This story from The San Diego Union-Tribune says that Kavanaugh’s impending confirmation process “could be one of the most heated battles in recent U.S. Senate history.”
For Kavanaugh to be confirmed to the Supreme Court, he must get 51 votes in the U.S. Senate, a simple majority of the 100 senators.
Trump’s previous SCOTUS nomination, Neil Gorsuch, was confirmed with a 54-45 vote 65 days after his nomination. Gorsuch took the seat of the late Antonin Scalia.