Senate’s leading gun rights duo reloads for Supreme Court case

Tester, Hutchison wrote Congressional brief in support of stronger gun rights

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Saying gun rights rise above party differences, U.S. Senators Jon Tester and Kay Bailey Hutchison are again teaming up to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to strengthen gun rights for law-abiding Americans.

The Court today began hearing arguments in the case McDonald v. City of Chicago.  The case will determine whether state and local governments have the right to restrict gun ownership.

Tester, D-Mont., and Hutchison, R-Texas, are leading the charge in Congress, urging the Supreme Court to side in favor of stronger gun rights.

Last October, they wrote and delivered a 59-page friend-of-the-court brief to the Court with signatures from 309 senators and representatives from both parties—more members of Congress than any friend-of-the-court brief in U.S. history.

“We’ve seen a lot of success this last year in making our gun rights in this country stronger,” said Tester, who serves as vice chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus.  “And it’s a result of us working together.  This isn’t about partisan politics.  It’s about making sure law-abiding folks have the same rights under our Constitution, no matter where they live.”
 
“Even after the Supreme Court’s decision in the Heller v. District of Columbia case, we’ve seen cities and states continue to enact restrictions and regulations that infringe on the rights of Americans to own a firearm, and to justify these actions by arguing the Second Amendment does not apply to the states,” Hutchison said. “I’m confident that after hearing the arguments in McDonald v. City of Chicago, the Supreme Court will make clear once and for all that an individual’s right to keep and bear arms does not depend upon where he or she lives in America.”

Tester and Hutchison also led the effort in Congress to support gun rights in the landmark Supreme Court case Heller v. District of Columbia.  That case overturned Washington, D.C.’s longstanding ban on firearms.