The Second Amendment Foundation believes that the nomination of Eric Holder for the post of attorney general of the United States sends an “alarming signal” to gun owners about how the Barack Obama administration will view individual gun rights.
“Eric Holder signed an amicus brief in the Heller case that supported the District of Columbia’s handgun ban, and also argued that the Second Amendment does not protect an individual right,” said Second Amendment Foundation Alan Gottlieb. “He has supported national handgun licensing and mandatory trigger locks. As deputy attorney general under Janet Reno, he lobbied Congress to pass legislation that would have curtailed legitimate gun shows.”
Holder’s nomination, like the appointment of anti-gun Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel as White House Chief of Staff, tells American gun owners that Obama’s campaign claims supporting the Second Amendment were “empty rhetoric,” Gottlieb said.
“America’s 85 million gun owners have ample reason to be pessimistic about how their civil rights will fare under the Obama administration,” Gottlieb said.
“Barack Obama vigorously portrayed himself on the campaign trail as a man who supports gun ownership, but now that he has won the election, he is surrounding himself with people who are avowed gun prohibitionists,” Gottlieb said. “What better indication of what to expect from Barack Obama as president than the people he is selecting to lead his administration?”
