TP’s Ian Millhiser debates Lou Dobbs on Sotomayor’s 2nd amendment record.
By on Jun 6th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
TP’s Ian Millhiser debates Lou Dobbs on Sotomayor’s 2nd amendment record.
Last night on CNN, Lou Dobbs claimed there are “new concerns” about Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s rulings on our 2nd amendment rights. Dobbs tried to argue that Sotomayor may be hostile towards private gun ownership. But ThinkProgress’ legal research analyst Ian Millhiser set the record straight, noting that the only thing we truly know from Sotomayor’s jurisprudence on 2nd amendment issues is that she has followed the rule of law and Supreme Court precedent. Watch it:
View Most Popular
Advertisement
What We're About
What We're Fighting For
What We're Fighting Against
Featured
Subscribe to the Progress Report
Topic CloudView topics sorted by popularity
Afghanistan
Bachmann
Beck
Boehner
Business
Cheney
Civil Rights
Congress
Corporate Ethics
Dobbs
Economy
Education
Election
Energy
Environment
Ethics
Fox News
Gingrich
Glenn Beck
Global Warming
Health Care
Immigration
International Relations
Justice
LGBT
Lieberman
Limbaugh
Media
Military
O'Reilly
Obama
Palin
Pelosi
Politics
Race
Radical Right
Religion
Sports
Steele
Stimulus
Tea Parties
Tea Party
Terrorism
Veterans
Women's Rights
Visit Our Affiliated Sites
Reports
In-depth studies on select topics
Got a hot tip?
Have a hot news tip? We'd love to hear from you. Use the form below to send us the latest.
ArchivesBlog Roll
the 2nd amendment guarantees an unalienable right to a cadre of weaponry.
June 6th, 2009 at 2:25 pmWell, it appears that Mr. Jacobs is demanding that Judge Sotomayor be an *activist judge* and overrule the Supreme Court.
You can’t have it both ways, you wingnut morons!!
June 6th, 2009 at 2:32 pmlinder van tyrannist Says:
the 2nd amendment guarantees an unalienable right to a cadre of weaponry.
I’m making a point of not responding to this idiot, but the use of “cadre” here is so hysterical I can’t resist.
June 6th, 2009 at 2:36 pmgummitch,
I wish they could get their historical documents straight, too. The word “unalienable” appears nowhere in the Constitution, which is the document that guarantees our rights. They love to mix up the Declaration and the Constitution. Then they denounce us for wanting the government to spend more on education.
June 6th, 2009 at 2:38 pmWayne, I’m still waiting for one of them to find “Jesus” or “Christ” in any of the founding documents, yet still they claim it’s always been a “Christian nation.” Actually reading any of the documents is clearly too much effort.
June 6th, 2009 at 2:40 pmThey can type, but they can’t read.
June 6th, 2009 at 2:42 pmthe only thing we truly know from Sotomayor’s jurisprudence on 2nd amendment issues is that she has followed the rule of law and Supreme Court precedent.
Yeah, but reichwingers have no actual use for facts… facts get in the way of their bigotry.
June 6th, 2009 at 2:42 pmGregor Samsa Says:
“the only thing we truly know from Sotomayor’s jurisprudence on 2nd amendment issues is that she has followed the rule of law and Supreme Court precedent.”
Yeah, but reichwingers have no actual use for facts… facts get in the way of their bigotry.
They have no use for the rule of law, either.
June 6th, 2009 at 2:45 pmTP’s Ian Millhiser vs. Lou Dobbs is not a fair fight.
Ian is smart and has facts on his side.
Lou has….(crickets chirping)
June 6th, 2009 at 2:47 pmThat was actually kind of refreshing in that it was not a shout-fest, and the focus was on Judge Sotomayor’s record as jurist rather than parsing statements from a speech.
Still, CNN couldn’t resist the chryon:
“Rights Under Assault: Sotomayor on the 2nd Amendment”
Why do they think they have to please the wingnuts? Oh, wait — Lou Dobbs IS a wingnut. Never mind.
June 6th, 2009 at 2:55 pmIt wasn’t that many years ago that I agreed with Dobbs on several issues.
I don’t know what has happened to the guy, but any time I listen to him now he comes across as a grumpy old man.
Maybe it’s time for Lou to find a time slot on Fix News.
June 6th, 2009 at 3:05 pmrhf – oh now you only want the government and ‘well-regulated’ militias to have assault rifles? What if the government AND the militias turn on us?
(snark off)
June 6th, 2009 at 3:17 pmfilm izle
June 6th, 2009 at 3:17 pmonline film izle
sinema izle
film seyret
film
internetten film izle
porno film izle
porno izle
sex izle
porno
porno film
sex
sikis
filim izle
filmler
izlesene
izle
okey
oyna okey
giyim
yazl?k giyim
kozmetik
film izle
klip izle
müzik
Carefu, gum, you’ll give the trolls the idea that all they have to do to generate a response is to say something really stupid…
wait a minute, that doesn’t sound right…
okay, to say something even stupider than usual – how’s that?
June 6th, 2009 at 3:20 pmRight, rhf, Billy Bob with two six-packs and an AK-47 in his pickup is not a “WELL-REGULATED MILITIA”.
June 6th, 2009 at 3:21 pmShe is not hostile. She just wants reasonable regulation.
I think Lous Dobbs is only interested in ratings—and his crowd seems to be the gun-owning and fearful crowd.
texasrick Says:
It wasn’t that many years ago that I agreed with Dobbs on several issues.
I don’t know what has happened to the guy, but any time I listen to him now he comes across as a grumpy old man.
I agree. I spent a lot of time a few years ago keeping someone company in the hospital and we’d nod our heads in agreement sometimes at something Lou had said, but now he just seems like a bitter, xenophobic whiner.
June 6th, 2009 at 3:21 pmThis spammer is getting WORSE!
June 6th, 2009 at 3:21 pmWhat was there to debate, when all Dobbs had was innuendo, fallacy, made up “facts”, and baseless accusations?
Where I come from, this would be called “calling the liar on his lies”, or “setting the record straight” if you want to be polite.
June 6th, 2009 at 3:21 pmI am so happy that TP has achieved sufficient status to be making these tv appearances!
Someone’s got to set the record straight and counter the BS.
June 6th, 2009 at 3:35 pmBy DYLAN T. LOVAN (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
June 04, 2009 8:52 PM EDT
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Kentucky pastor is inviting his flock to bring guns to church to celebrate the Fourth of July and the Second Amendment.
New Bethel Church is welcoming “responsible handgun owners” to wear their firearms inside the church June 27, a Saturday. An ad says there will be a handgun raffle, patriotic music and information on gun safety.
June 6th, 2009 at 3:39 pmFirst Obama and now Judge Sonia Sotomayor; I don’t think Dobbs’ heart is goig to be able to take all this “minority” stuff.
June 6th, 2009 at 3:45 pmI hope they are “raptured” right into heaven with their guns in tow.
They do have guns in heaven, right?…uhh…??…
June 6th, 2009 at 3:57 pmWhere was the media concern or coverage on Bush supreme court nominees John Roberts and Samuel Alito who ruled 90% in cases favoring corporations and the government over American citizens.
Oops…Silly me, I forgot, the media is controlled by the corporations and in part by the government. They don’t want the American citizens to know how much the cards are stacked against them with regards to getting justice against corporations or the government.
June 6th, 2009 at 4:05 pmDixie – if they did, some wingnut would shoot Jebus for being “a dirty long-haired hippie freak”…
Oy.
June 6th, 2009 at 4:05 pmLeftside Annie Says:
Dixie – if they did, some wingnut would shoot Jebus for being “a dirty long-haired hippie freak”…
June 6th, 2009 at 4:09 pm“““““““““““““““““““““““““““““`
Or attack, slander and crucify him for being anti-war, for helping the sick, the elderly, the children, the poor and less fortunate, for being against greed, for being against hateful rhetoric, for being against racism…yep if Jesus were walking the Earth today he would be the enemy of the religious right and the republican party.
dixie blood Says:
Keith Says:
——————————————————————————-
By DYLAN T. LOVAN (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
June 04, 2009 8:52 PM EDT
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Kentucky pastor is inviting his flock to bring guns to church to celebrate the Fourth of July and the Second Amendment.
New Bethel Church is welcoming “responsible handgun owners” to wear their firearms inside the church June 27, a Saturday. An ad says there will be a handgun raffle, patriotic music and information on gun safety.
I hope they are “raptured” right into heaven with their guns in tow.
They do have guns in heaven, right?…uhh…??…
June 6th, 2009 at 4:11 pm““““““““““““““““““““““““““““`
Guns don’t kill, religious wackos with guns kill!
Nothing says Jesus than AK47’s and Smith & Wesson…Now please make an offering with your money and ammo as the colection bowl is passed around by Brother Leroy.
Praise Jesus! Amen! Bang-bang-bang, rat-a-tat-tat!
June 6th, 2009 at 4:16 pmNot just for being a DFH but for supporting women’s rights, ending all forms of discrimination, ending world-wide hunger and refusing to support any kind of war of choice against others.
June 6th, 2009 at 4:16 pmGuns in church. As I’ve said before: “Show me a person with a gun in one hand and a Buy-bull in the other and I’ll show you a person who should not be trusted with either”.
June 6th, 2009 at 4:18 pmBut the words “shall not be infringed” are in the 2nd amendment.
No, read it again. The right to keep and bear arms applies to “the people.”
Ha ha. I guess for Lou Dobbs, them minorities are only good for marrying.
June 6th, 2009 at 4:22 pmWatch and listen to exactly how the Dirty F|cking Hippies were right here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKEZoY-TMG4
June 6th, 2009 at 4:27 pmAlejandro,
June 6th, 2009 at 4:30 pmNo one is going to come take away your guns. It might be not quite so easy in the future to buy assault weapons. Even conservative Supreme Courts agree that regulation is constitutional. If she is confirmed, the court will still be 5-4 conservative.
Ah, but that won’t stop them from violating our rights.
June 6th, 2009 at 4:37 pmWhat do you think they are going to do?
June 6th, 2009 at 4:39 pmMake you wait a few days?
June 6th, 2009 at 4:41 pmLimit you to 100 per year?
Help me out here.
chirp chirp chirp
June 6th, 2009 at 4:46 pmThe problem with the issue of regulating weapons is that it, like so many contentious subjects, engenders “all or nothing” thinking. For a number of reasons, when people hear “gun law” they immediately jump to “I will no longer be able to own a gun”.
Personally, I’m a life-long gun owner and shooting enthusiast and I am absolutely convinced that we need a rational national weapons policy.
June 6th, 2009 at 4:48 pmBTW. I fail to see how a call for a “well regulated militia” confers a right to the unregulated ownership of weapons. And that’s where the real problem lies.
The vast majority of shootings, including negligence, are perpetrated by unqualified people who obtained their weapon legally. That implies a deficiency in regulation. And I sure as Hell don’t think the authors of the 2nd Amendment intended for the public to be less secure. The current lack of a comprehensive policy regarding gun ownership is a direct threat to public safety and it’s long past time we discussed it, as adults, on a national scale.
June 6th, 2009 at 4:55 pmI find it fascinating how the wingnuts keep saying she should overturn what the law says in order to adhere to their belief system. Their sole complaint about her seems to be that she does not engage in judicial activism (on their behalf).
June 6th, 2009 at 5:17 pmThat’s the thing, ElBruce. Her record clearly established that she is impartial and apolitical in her rulings so… Since the Reichwhiners only cause for obstruction is politically motivated, they are reduced, as they so often are, to making crap up.
June 6th, 2009 at 5:34 pmSeems to me that a good deal of basic 2nd amendment questions were resolved by the SCOTUS decision last July. But please note that the major opinion, authored by Scalia, plainly stated that the rights of the Second amendment are not unlimited. The Right are just making noises that don’t even make any sense anymore.
Americans have a right to keep a gun at home for self-defense, the Supreme Court ruled today in striking down part of a handgun ban in the District of Columbia.
By a 5-4 vote, the court concluded that the 2nd Amendment and its famous right “to keep and bear arms” protects the gun rights of individuals, rather than just a state’s right to maintain a militia.
Justice Antonin Scalia, speaking for the court, said the history of the 2nd Amendment shows its authors intended to protect the “right of the people” as individuals to have weapons, both to defend themselves and their community.
The ruling is the first in the high court’s long history to strike down a gun law based on the 2nd Amendment.
But the court’s ruling appeared to be narrow. Scalia stressed that nothing in today’s decision casts doubts on laws that forbid felons or the mentally ill from having guns.
He also said the government can strictly regulate when and where people have guns. For example, he said guns may be prohibited near schools and in or near government buildings.
“Like most rights, the right secured by the 2nd Amendment is not unlimited,” Scalia said.
http://articles.latimes.com/p/2008/jun/27/nation/na-scotus27
June 6th, 2009 at 5:39 pmI recommend that old chestnut from the Beat Farmers, “Gunsale at the Church”, gold plated firing pins and all….as comic relief from idiots.
June 6th, 2009 at 5:41 pmwinddancer Says:
But please note that the major opinion, authored by Scalia, plainly stated that the rights of the Second amendment are not unlimited.
Of course. I don’t get to bear nuclear arms, for example. There is a line that has to be drawn somewhere. Actually, a number of them across different dimensions.
June 6th, 2009 at 6:26 pmTime for Lou Dobbs to retire along with most of the CNN old guard! This obsession with illegal immigrants and the 2nd amendment is getting old.
June 6th, 2009 at 6:41 pmSesli Chat
Sesli Chat
Sesli Sohbet
Sesli Sohbet
June 6th, 2009 at 8:22 pmsizde yerinizi al?n
Chatlesin Says:
Please take your porn spamming and engage in an act of auto-fornication.
June 6th, 2009 at 8:26 pmSo does this mean abortion on demand, which is not in the constitution, should be up to the individual states? Is it not regretable that the federal governments approval of state scanctioned murder forced this cloud of death across our nation.
Of course the left fears the people being armed just like Hitler, Mao, Stalin and the other leftists heart throbs. The second amendment is there to secure our freedom from a facist state run by the likes of Chairman Obama and his wacked out minions.
June 6th, 2009 at 9:17 pmGlock45 Says:
…Of course the left fears the people being armed just like Hitler, Mao, Stalin and the other leftists heart throbs. The second amendment is there to secure our freedom from a fascist state run by the likes of Chairman Obama and his wacked out minions.
Please provide examples of:
1. People from “the left” who have expressed “fear the people being armed”.
2. Americans, regardless of affiliation, who express anything but horror about Hitler, Mao, and Stalin.
Thanks for the reply. I’ve chosen to ignore the whacked out GOoPer crap about abortion and “librul fascism”.
June 6th, 2009 at 9:25 pmSurely Lou Dobbs is aware that even if Judge Sotomayor were radical, one vote isn’t going to overturn all his pet rulings.
June 6th, 2009 at 9:44 pmLou Dobbs is like the crazy racist uncle who you know is going to make a scene at Thanksgiving, but you have to invite him anyway. Rather than making a big scene, like last year, you quietly explain to your kids that you’ll talk about why everything he says is wrong on the way home.
June 6th, 2009 at 10:32 pmIn my opinion, this whole thing just shows 1) how unwilling to work together Republicans are, and 2) how racist they are.
I’m Chicano. Yeah, I’m proud to see a Puerto-Rican American going for a seat on the Supreme Court, especially one that clearly has brown skin as lighter-skinned members of minority groups usually get the leg up.
Nonetheless, as someone gung-ho for change, I find her record to be, well, blah. She seems to be someone who very strictly and logically follows the law. That would be great, if everyone did that. But, with activist conservative judges like Alito, Roberts, Thomas, and Scalia on the court, a Latino who would more proactively oppose their influence would be preferrable to me.
That is why these right-wing attacks on her are so ridiculous. For God’s sake, she’s 50% on their side, in terms of rulings. Conservatives are out of their freakin’ hateful skulls.
June 7th, 2009 at 12:02 am“leftists heart throbs”…
is that supposed to be clever?
… unreal… all of it.
June 7th, 2009 at 12:17 amcdwriteme – the only time i noticed her skin color was seeing the pictures of her with biden and obama, when he nominated her;
June 7th, 2009 at 12:39 ami thought, ‘her skin is whiter than biden’s!’…
maybe it was the photo/lighting… she looked fair skinned to me…
just an observation…
Dobbs’ rhetoric just got pimp-slapped by reality.
June 7th, 2009 at 3:15 amGlock45 Says:
So does this mean abortion on demand, which is not in the constitution, should be up to the individual states?
The basic legal/philosophical concept of “liberty” is that anything not explicitly outlawed is legal. Something doesn’t have to be “in the Constitution” to be legal; rather, it would require a law to explicitly criminalize it.
The Fourth Amendment (which is in the Constitution) allows people to be “secure in their persons” which many court rulings have deemed to mean (among other things) that Congress cannot legislate the contents of your body. As doing so is prohibited to the federal government, it is therefore also prohibited to any state government per the Tenth Amendment.
So, no.
.
Glock45 Says:
Of course the left fears the people being armed just like Hitler, Mao, Stalin and the other leftists heart throbs. The second amendment is there to secure our freedom from a facist state run by the likes of Chairman Obama and his wacked out minions.
I find it odd how you denigrate one of the amendments on the Bill of Rights in order to subjugate women, and then immediately shift to upholding one of the other amendments in order to threaten the duly elected government with violence. You’re being inconsistent here.
June 7th, 2009 at 3:39 amGlock45 Says:
Of course the left fears the people being armed just like Hitler, Mao, Stalin and the other leftists heart throbs. The second amendment is there to secure our freedom from a facist state run by the likes of Chairman Obama and his wacked out minions.
Flagged on #48 for inciting violence against the POTUS.
The Secret Service would like to have a word with you.
June 7th, 2009 at 3:58 amGlock45 Says:
So does this mean abortion on demand, which is not in the constitution, should be up to the individual states? Is it not regretable that the federal governments approval of state scanctioned murder forced this cloud of death across our nation.
Whenever I hear an abortion rights opponent use the term “abortion on demand”, I know that I am dealing with a person who has only a limited understanding of the issues involved. They are repeating propaganda put out by people who also spread lies to make their point. They like to use the term “abortion on demand” to make it sound like millions of women are having their pregnancies terminated two days before the baby is due, when nothing of the sort is even close to the truth. In short, people who complain about “abortion on demand” are too ill-informed to be discussing the issue.
June 7th, 2009 at 11:32 amYour right, we should not rely on the internet, internet is only a media, but I think while you are writing this article your mind is not in peace… I knew from reading every word you wrote.
June 7th, 2009 at 11:40 amSesli Sohbet
June 7th, 2009 at 5:41 pmSesli Chat
Görüntülü chat
What part of, “The right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” do some people not understand?
June 7th, 2009 at 7:28 pmGlock45
Abortion isnt murder and you are a fool. A complete and utter jm moron. Your stupidity is like the taste of sweet ice cream and I just love to laugh at people as stupid as you
June 7th, 2009 at 7:47 pmPopatop Says:
What part of a well regulated militia cant morons like YOU understand?
June 7th, 2009 at 7:49 pmAt the time of the writing a “militia” was “The eligible pool of citizens callable into military service” in other words, men of military age. Well regulated, referred to the ability to load, fire, and re-load a weapon. The second amendment is also the freedom to NOT own a firearm, if you’re scared of guns, don’t own them.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:08 am