{"id":2567,"date":"2012-03-21T15:43:48","date_gmt":"2012-03-21T19:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=2567"},"modified":"2012-03-21T15:43:48","modified_gmt":"2012-03-21T19:43:48","slug":"jay-sekulow-ag-holder-needs-a-lesson-in-the-second-amendment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/03\/jay-sekulow-ag-holder-needs-a-lesson-in-the-second-amendment.html","title":{"rendered":"Jay Sekulow: AG Holder Needs a Lesson in the Second Amendment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/files\/2012\/03\/95784057.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-2566\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/240\/2012\/03\/95784057-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>In 1995, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder &#8211; who was serving as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia at the time &#8211; attempted to bolster his anti-gun campaign by expressing his desire to launch a public relations campaign to<a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/2012\/03\/19\/holder-flashback-urges-womens-groups-to-brainwash-kids-against-guns\/\" target=\"_blank\"> &#8220;really brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way.&#8221; <\/a><\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s right &#8211; his words &#8211; &#8220;brainwash people&#8221; to oppose gun ownership. Ridiculous. Let me say from the start, the use of guns to commit violent crimes is simply unacceptable. And no one should glorify the improper use of guns. Period. But opposition to gun ownership simply cannot translate into excising the Second Amendment from the U.S. Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>As I told Megyn Kelly on FOX News today, Holder&#8217;s comments about brainwashing people reflect his bias and raise important questions about his view of the Second Amendment.<\/p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=11bnCGypo60\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=11bnCGypo60<\/a>\n<p>As you might imagine, Holder&#8217;s comment about his desire to &#8220;brainwash people&#8221; when it comes to gun ownership generated sharp reaction. <a href=\"http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/rep-peter-king-holder-wanting-brainwash-people-anti-010402528.html\" target=\"_blank\">Rep. Peter King of New York\u00a0<\/a>called the comments one of Holder&#8217;s &#8220;many flaws.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The remarks also brought a sharp rebuke from a top Congressman who is investigating the botched Justice Department gun-running program called Operation Fast &amp; Furious &#8211; a program that Holder has refused to accept responsibility for &#8211; a program that took the lives of hundreds of people &#8211; including the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent.<\/p>\n<p>House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa told <a href=\"http:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2012\/03\/20\/congressmen-outraged-over-holder-anti-gun-brainwash-video\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Daily Caller<\/a>\u00a0 that he\u2019s not surprised, as Holder and many of his deputies come from an extremist anti-gun background.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;[Assistant Attorney General] Lanny Breuer, Eric Holder come from a wing &#8211; certainly Lanny Breuer led the charge on the assault weapons ban,&#8221; Issa said during an interview on Capitol Hill. &#8220;Many of the people in the chain of Fast and Furious have a disregard for Second Amendment rights and a belief that they have to limit beyond what the courts have upheld &#8211; people&#8217;s rights to keep and bear arms. So, it&#8217;s no surprise that insensitive statements like that would be made by now-Attorney General Holder.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Attorney General has a legal obligation to uphold the entire constitution &#8211; including the Second Amendment &#8211; whether he agrees with it or not.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/people\/jay-sekulow\/\" target=\"_blank\">Jay Sekulow<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 1995, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder &#8211; who was serving as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia at the time &#8211; attempted to bolster his anti-gun campaign by expressing his desire to launch a public relations campaign to &#8220;really brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way.&#8221; That&#8217;s right &#8211;&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[467,66,302],"tags":[494,203,616,618,505,533,617,615],"class_list":["post-2567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attorney-general-eric-holder","category-u-s-constitution","category-u-s-department-of-justice","tag-attorney-general-holder","tag-fox-news","tag-gun-ownership","tag-megyn-kelly","tag-operation-fast-furious","tag-rep-issa","tag-rep-peter-king","tag-second-amendment"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Jay Sekulow: AG Holder Needs a Lesson in the Second Amendment - Faith &amp; Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/03\/jay-sekulow-ag-holder-needs-a-lesson-in-the-second-amendment.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jay Sekulow: AG Holder Needs a Lesson in the Second Amendment - Faith &amp; Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 1995, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder &#8211; who was serving as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia at the time &#8211; attempted to bolster his anti-gun campaign by expressing his desire to launch a public relations campaign to &#8220;really brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way.&#8221; That&#8217;s right &#8211;&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/03\/jay-sekulow-ag-holder-needs-a-lesson-in-the-second-amendment.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith &amp; 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who was serving as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia at the time &#8211; attempted to bolster his anti-gun campaign by expressing his desire to launch a public relations campaign to &#8220;really brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way.&#8221; That&#8217;s right &#8211;&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/03\/jay-sekulow-ag-holder-needs-a-lesson-in-the-second-amendment.html","og_site_name":"Faith &amp; Justice","article_published_time":"2012-03-21T19:43:48+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/files\/2012\/03\/95784057-150x150.jpg"}],"author":"Jay Sekulow","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/03\/jay-sekulow-ag-holder-needs-a-lesson-in-the-second-amendment.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/03\/jay-sekulow-ag-holder-needs-a-lesson-in-the-second-amendment.html","name":"Jay Sekulow: AG Holder Needs a Lesson in the Second Amendment - Faith &amp; 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He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2567"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2579,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2567\/revisions\/2579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}