14 seconds ago 2010-01-08T13:30:02-08:00
No issue scares Democrats more than gun control. Republican claims that then-President Clinton and his fellow Democrats would erode the 2nd Amendment led to big GOP gains in the 1994 midterm elections. That defeat made guns a third-rail issue for the next generation of Democrats.
And into this briar patch walks Sonia Sotomayor. Early in her testimony, she tried to reassure senators that she would not take any "preconceived notions" about gun rights to the Supreme Court if confirmed as a justice.
Her proof point? "One of my godchildren is a member of the NRA," Sotomayor said. "I have friends who hunt." She also said that as a member of the high court bench, she would feel constrained by precedent, if the Supreme Court has already spoken on an issue. The high court earlier this year reaffirmed the right of people to own a gun for self defense.
-Ron Fournier, AP Washington bureau chief
