Stephen Halbrook To Testify Against Confirmation of Eric Holder for Attorney General at Senate Judiciary Committee HearingOAKLAND, Calif., Jan. 15, 2009 — Independent Institute Research Fellow and attorney Stephen Halbrook is among the witnesses testifying, arguing that Holder’s reputation as a steadfast opponent of Second Amendment rights makes him an unfit candidate for the job.
Halbrook, author of the new Institute book
The Founders’ Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms, filed an amicus brief on behalf of more than 300 members of Congress in the recent Supreme Court case
District of Columbia v. Heller. But the landmark decision, affirming an individual right in the Second Amendment, conflicts with Holder’s track record, claims Halbrook. In fact, Holder joined in a brief arguing that the Second Amendment only concerns the “State’s operation of a well-regulated militia†and does not protect an individual right, a position at odds with President-elect Barack Obama’s approval of Heller.
“When Mr. Holder served as Deputy Attorney General (1997–2001) and Acting Attorney General (2001), the Department of Justice implemented policies hostile to Second Amendment rights,†states Halbrook in his prepared written testimony. “In the establishment of the national instant criminal background check system (‘NICS’) in 1998, the Department claimed the authority to keep records on lawful firearm purchasers for an alleged ‘audit log’ for six months, despite the law’s requirement that such records be destroyed and its prohibition on registration of firearm owners.â€
(more...)Here are the full, prepared statemens by Mr. Halbrook:
http://www.independent.org/pdf/Testimony_Halbrook.pdf
