Breyer's Robbery Illustrates Why RKBA So Important Everywhere

To: LEGAL AFFAIRS AND NATIONAL EDITORS

BELLEVUE, Wash., Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The recent robbery of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer at a vacation home in the West Indies should hopefully cause the learned jurist to re-examine his core beliefs about the individual right to keep and bear arms at places other than their primary residence, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.

Breyer has voted with the minority twice in recent years against recognizing that the Second Amendment protects an individual civil right to keep and bear arms, in both the Heller and McDonald cases. He was robbed last week, along with his wife and some guests, by an intruder wielding a machete, according to published reports. Justice Breyer was not harmed, but the robber got away with about $1,000 in cash.

"We're delighted that Justice Breyer was not hurt during this incident," said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, "and hopefully this case will give him a new perspective on the right to bear arms for personal safety. Police cannot always be around when you need them, even if you're a Supreme Court justice. One does not leave his right of self-defense at the doorstep of his home when he travels.

"If this demonstrates anything to Justice Breyer," he continued, "it is that crime does not happen just at someone's primary residence, and criminals do not make appointments, giving someone time to unlock and assemble and load a firearm. You must be able to protect yourself, even on vacation outside of your home state, at a moment's notice. That's not just a civil right, but a basic human right.

"When Justice Breyer dissented in the Heller case," Gottlieb recalled, "he expressed concerns about keeping loaded firearms in the home for personal protection. Faced with a machete in the hands of a criminal, one wonders whether Breyer might have quietly wished he had a gun with which he could have defended himself, his wife and their guests. We hope this incident gives him new insight with which to temper his views."

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.

SOURCE Second Amendment Foundation

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Breyer's Robbery Illustrates Why RKBA So Important Everywhere