Court: Nominee isn't a centrist on guns

Re: “Obama chooses centrist for court” (TNT, 3-17).

The New York Times article neglected to mention Judge Merrick Garland’s views on the Second Amendment.

In 2000, Garland voted in favor of (then) Attorney General Janet Reno’s interpretation of the Brady Act. It’s complicated, but basically that act required the destruction of personal information relating to lawful firearm transactions.

Reno wanted the government to retain the data for six months so the background checks could be audited for accuracy. The court voted in her favor. Then in 2007, a D.C. Circuit Court decision struck down a gun law that the District of Columbia created to ban individual handgun possession, including letting people keep personal guns in their own homes.

Garland later disagreed with that decision and voted to reconsider the ban. His attempt was unsuccessful.

It is important your readers know of the judge’s viewpoint on this important issue. Lest we forget, his term is for life.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 12:35 PM with the headline "Court: Nominee isn't a centrist on guns."