BELLEVUE, Wash., Feb. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The
Second Amendment Foundation is mourning the loss of a giant on the
U.S. Supreme Court with the death today of Justice Antonin Scalia, the man who authored the
landmark 2008 Heller ruling that recognized the Second Amendment as
protective of an individual civil right to keep and bear arms.
"Antonin Scalia was a brilliant
legal scholar who not only understood the Constitution, he brought
clarity to possibly the most important issue of our time," said SAF
founder and Executive Vice President Alan
Gottlieb. "I had the honor and privilege to have met
Justice Scalia and found him to be a
man of strong ethics and intellect, and great character.
"Justice Scalia was a fierce
defender of the Constitution and he adhered to its original
meanings," he continued. "I found him to be a warm, charming and
humorous man with great wit who deeply loved this country and had
an unshakeable belief in the rule of law."
Gottlieb acknowledged that there is already speculation about
how this will affect the philosophical balance on the high
court.
"It is important now that the Senate not act with haste to fill
Scalia's shoes," he observed. "The Court must not be allowed to
swing away from supporting Second Amendment rights, which is why we
urge the Senate Judiciary to act judiciously, and not take up this
important issue until a new president is in office. We cannot allow
the important work of Antonin Scalia
to be undone by a court thrown out of balance by the appointment of
a successor who would be his philosophical opposite.
"For now," Gottlieb concluded, "our condolences go to
Justice Scalia's family, his
colleagues and the Supreme Court staff who have suffered a huge
loss."
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation's
oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and
legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and
heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in
1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and
supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the
public about the consequences of gun control.
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SOURCE Second Amendment Foundation