WASHINGTON, DC – The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) has launched a massive ad buy on television for “The Deciding Vote,” a commercial supporting Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, reminding millions of American gun owners that the fate of the Second Amendment could turn on whether the Senate confirms Kavanaugh to the nation’s highest court.
“Let me ask you a simple question. Do you believe you have a right to defend yourself and your family with a firearm in your own home?” begins Chris Cox, the executive director of the NRA’s political arm. “Four Supreme Court justices say you do, but four say you don’t … because the deciding vote announced he’s retiring.”
“And your most fundamental right to self-defense could be extinguished,” he warns:
Cox is referring to the fact that District of Columbia v. Heller– the historic case that held in 2008 that the Second Amendment is an individual right for U.S. citizens – was a 5-4 decision. Four justices insisted in dissent that the Second Amendment does not apply to private citizens at all, and thus, the government can completely ban all gun ownership.
Justice Anthony Kennedy was one of the five justices in the majority, meaning a replacement who is not committed to gun rights could become a fifth vote to overrule Heller, even though approximately 80 percent of Americans believe they have a constitutional right to own firearms.
“This is our opportunity to protect the one freedom and guarantees all the others,” Cox continues, “the freedom that makes America different from every other country on earth.”
“The Second Amendment is at stake,” he adds. “America is at stake.”
“We don’t care if we’re the last one in the arena. We will never, ever stop fighting for this freedom,” Cox promises the audience. “We are the National Rifle Association of America, and we are freedom’s safest place.”
Ken Klukowski is senior legal editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @kenklukowski.