Gun Rights Groups: We Object to William Barr Being Confirmed as AG

The Firearms Policy Coalition on Wednesday sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stating their opposition to William Barr being confirmed as Attorney General. Their biggest objection to Barr is over his previously stated support for Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO), commonly referred to as "red flag laws," and his belief that "there is room for reasonable regulation" of the Second Amendment. 

Specifically, Barr's 1991 confirmation hearing is what gun groups have cited as reasons for objecting to his current confirmation hearings: 

“This is a strong indicator that Mr. Barr, if confirmed, would not only maintain the DOJ’s troubling current litigation positions, but potentially even direct United States Attorneys and DOJ civil litigation counsel across the nation to take even more aggressively anti-rights, authoritarian positions in a wide variety of prosecutions and constitutional challenges. That is not the proper remedy for centuries of constitutional resistance and atrophy,” the group said in the letter. “We believe that the views expressed by Mr. Barr disqualify him from serving as the Nation’s highest law enforcement officer. The Constitution, the People of the United States, and law-abiding gun owners do not need another enemy.”

Gun Owners of America expressed similar concern with Barr's nomination and sent out an action alert to gun owners across the nation. The group encouraged their members to call their Senators and let them know they oppose Barr because of his alleged anti-gun position.