Brady Campaign Urges Electoral Consequences for Senate Majority’s Flagrant Disregard for Their Own Principles, Will of the People

Washington, D.C., October 26, 2020 - Following the actions of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Senate majority in ramming through the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, the Brady Campaign reiterates the need to elect a gun violence prevention majority to the United States Senate to enact the will of the people.

Sen. McConnell and his members have shown that they do not care about the value of their own words, having violated the ‘McConnell Rule’ that they themselves instituted, instead and again advancing the interests of the gun lobby above those of the American people.

Brady Campaign President Kris Brown shared:

“Instead of addressing the unprecedented unemployment and economic devastation facing millions of Americans or the surging and record-setting gun violence around the country, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his majority members have violated their own ‘McConnell Rule’ and forced through a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court while Americans actively vote in this Presidential election.

Their actions will have grave consequences and demonstrate the corrosive power of special interest money, like the gun lobby’s, as the Senate Majority Leader and his members advance those interests rather than the interests of the American people. It’s why we should not be surprised that the NRA quickly supported this nominee. From occupying a seat next to President Trump to approve Justice Gorsuch, to spending over $1 million on ads to confirm Justice Kavanaugh, the NRA has been at the forefront of all of President Trump’s nomination processes. He has paid them back for spending more than $54 million in 2016 to elect him and down-ballot candidates, and $55 million to elect Senate Republicans since 2010.

Soon-to-be-Justice Barrett did not show any willingness to recant the extremist views on the Second Amendment during her confirmation hearings. While we cannot speculate as to her judgement on cases that will come before the court in the future, we sincerely hope that the responsibility of sitting on the highest court in the land instills in her the gravity of making decisions that have life and death consequences for 100 Americans a day.

In the meantime, the American people can, should, and will hold Senator McConnell to account for violating his word and for advancing the interests of the gun lobby ahead of those of the American people. On November 3, we must ensure that he, President Trump and members of the Senate Majority such as Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Lindsey Graham who have advanced this sham process do not hold power in the new Congress.”

About Judge Amy Coney Barrett and Gun Safety:

Judge Amy Coney Barrett, soon to be Justice Barrett, has served as a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit since November 2017, following her nomination by President Donald Trump and confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Judge Barrett previously served as a law professor at Notre Dame Law School and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and for Judge Laurence Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Her views on the Second Amendment are well documented -- and dangerous. Judge Barrett has explicitly stated her belief that “The Second Amendment confers an individual right, intimately connected with the natural right of self-defense, and not limited to civic participation (i.e., militia service).” She has stated that she believes common-sense regulations such as restrictions on gun ownership for those previously found guilty of a felony are unconstitutional in some instances and indicated that she intends to increase the scope of the Second Amendment. She has shown a willingness to view restrictions on the ability to access firearms with extreme skepticism and that she supports an extreme interpretation of the Second Amendment as a supreme natural right.