Judicial Nominee Who Helped Sue Gun Makers Is 'Exactly' Who We Need To Serve, Obama Says

March 7, 2013
By Joe Schoffstall

(CNS News) - Today, President Barack Obama said Caitlin Halligan, who was once again blocked by Senate Republicans on an up-or-down vote for confirmation, is "exactly the kind of person" who should serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

"A majority of the Senate agrees that Ms. Halligan is exactly the kind of person who should serve on this court, and I urge Senate Republicans to allow the Senate to express its will and to confirm Ms. Halligan without further delay," Obama stated.

However, Halligan is considered to the "most anti-Second Amendment nominee" Obama has ever pushed, according to a senate GOP aide who spoke with Breitbart News in late February.

Matthew Boyle writes of Halligan:


In a May 5, 2003 speech, Halligan revealed that she played a role in lawsuits against firearms manufacturers in which authorities were attempting to hold them accountable for crimes committed with firearms. Her comments came in the context of bashing the then-pending Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).

"If enacted, this legislation would nullify lawsuits brought by nearly 30 cities and counties -including one filed by my office-as well as scores of lawsuits brought by individual victims or groups harmed by gun violence," Halligan said. "Such an action would likely cut off at the pass any attempt by States to find solutions - through the legal system or their own legislatures - that might reduce gun crime or promote greater responsibility among gun dealers.

On December 5, 2011, the following was written in a letter by the NRA to members of the U.S. Senate when Halligan was first nominated for the position by President Obama.

(Partial letter): "Our opposition is based on Ms. Halligan's attacks on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans. Specifically, she worked to undermine the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), enacted in 2005 with strong bipartisan support. This legislation was critically important in ending a wave of lawsuits sponsored by anti-gun organizations and governments, which sought to blame firearms manufacturers and dealers for the criminal misuse of their products by third parties. This bill was an essential protection both for the Second Amendment rights of honest Americans and for the continued existence of the domestic firearms industry as a supplier of arms for our nation's defense."

It continues, "Among the governments that sued the industry was the state of New York. This case was pending while Ms. Halligan was New York's solicitor general, and she strongly supported the litigation both inside and outside the courtroom." To read the full letter, click here.

In the later part of 2011, she was successfully filibustered by Senate Republicans. She went on to be re-nominated by the president in 2012. However, that nomination timed out at the conclusion of the 112th Congress. This is the third time the president has nominated her for this position.