That was Uncle’s statement to me in an e-mail, in reaction to the Supreme Court agreeing to take Heller. What kind of things would be useful to do between now and then? I have some ideas for our gun rights organizations to consider.
The Supreme Court is supposed to be non-political, but we all know that’s a half-truth. The fact is, The Courts in the latter part of the last century were very reluctant to interfere with the exercise of legislative power. We want the justices on The Court to have some idea what the sentiment of Congress is.
What I would propose is to lobby Congress to pass a non-binding (meaning not law) resolution stating that it’s the opinion of the lawmakers that the second amendment protects an individual right. That would put the legislative branch in agreement with the executive branch, and give any possible fence sitters on the court some breathing room. It would also serve to get certain politicians on record (*cough* Hillary *cough*) as to how they stand on the second amendment.
Why would Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership in Congress support such a measure?  Because if the Supreme Court rules the wrong way in the Heller case, they can kiss goodbye their ambitions for taking the White House in 2008. Gun control will be on top of the agenda, and whether their nominee is Hillary or Obama, a Republican who touts that he will put conservative justices on The Court will look a lot better in comparison to either of those two. Democrats are not going to want this issue to come to a boil in 2008, so I think they could be convinced to pass something like this.
What say you all?