Tell Senators “NO” Anti-Gun Judges!

Tell Your Senators “NO” Anti-Gun Judges!

by Gun Owners of America
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102
Springfield, VA 22151
(703) 321-8585, fax: 321-8408

(Tuesday, October 28, 1997) — In the next few weeks, the Senate may be considering the nomination of Margaret Morrow to a U.S. District Court position. Ms. Morrow is not only extremely anti-gun, she’s a ‘judicial activist’ who thinks that judges can disregard the law and use the court’s rulings to reshape society. If nominated to the federal bench, she could affect the outcome of several gun cases, and ensure that the federal courts hand down even more anti-gun rulings.

While Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is reportedly intent on bringing up her nomination, Gun Owners of America has joined with several other groups to block her from taking a place on the federal bench. But, we need your help.

ACTION:

Look at Ms. Morrow’s record below, and then contact your Senators (1-800-522-6721). Urge them to oppose her nomination should it come to a vote. Using the same 800 number, call Senator Hatch’s office and urge him not to bring up her nomination. Tell him not to compromise with the Clinton administration. (So what if the President really wants Morrow as a federal judge.) Tell Sen. Hatch to push NO ONE who is anti-gun or who treats the Constitution as a so-called living document. The Constitution means what it says.

Remember, Sen. Hatch does NOT have to act on Morrow’s nomination. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Hatch can simply refuse to bring her nomination to a vote. Ask him to stop her nomination.

Record of Margaret Morrow

(Information taken from the Judicial Selection Monitoring Project, 10/15/97)

* Against the rights of gun owners. Morrow was the 1993-94 President of the State Bar of California. The National Law Journal (10/25/93) reported that the October 1993 state bar convention “had only one big issue, gun control.” Even though a 1990 Supreme Court decision prohibited the California bar from using dues for political activity, Morrow “vowed” to push the gun control resolution anyway.

* Judicial Activist. Morrow sees law as an instrument for social change. While our founding fathers studied William Blackstone and learned that law is “fixed, uniform and universal,” Morrow believes otherwise. She has written, “For the law is, almost by definition, on the cutting edge of social thought. It is the vehicle through which we ease the transition from the rules which have been to the rules which are to be.” (Source: Margaret Morrow, Univ. of West L.A. Law Review, 1995.) Translated, Morrow believes that no matter what the Constitution says, social engineers (legislators, judges, etc.) can use legislation or judicial opinions to change the direction of society. If the Second Amendment stands in their way, they just ignore it. Or better yet, they say it doesn’t apply to today.

* Lack of integrity and concealing true intentions. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) has stated that Morrow’s “judgment and candor are under a great deal of question.” She withheld nearly 40 articles, reports and speeches from the Judiciary Committee, despite repeated requests. Then she refused to answer written questions from Senators after her hearing in March. When she finally complied, she gave what Sen. Grassley labeled “false and misleading information.”

* Nominated by William Jefferson Clinton. Any judge nominated by President Clinton, the most anti-gun President in our nation’s history, should be suspect. President Clinton has pushed for gun bans and waiting periods, has closed off our shores to the importation of several types of firearms, and has even hinted at a complete ban on handguns in the future (see Rolling Stone, 12/9/93). In truth, any judge he nominates should be assumed to be anti-gun until proven otherwise.

Final Note: For more information on Margaret Morrow, gun owners are invited to contact the Judicial Selection Monitoring Project at 717 Second Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002, ph: 202-546-3000. Email: [email protected].