In the wake of the deadly school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018, people across the country have risen up to demand that Congress stand up to the NRA on gun safety.
The students of Parkland and other youth leaders have unapologetically demanded that their Members of Congress (MoCs) protect them from the uniquely American epidemic of mass shootings.
Despite this movement, Republican Senators are prepared to confirm Trump nominated Howard C. Nielson to a lifetime district court judgeship. Nielson is one of the NRA’s go-to attorneys, who has made a career out of regularly representing the NRA and fighting against common-sense gun safety measures.
The NRA spent an unprecedented amount of money—surpassing its own previous spending records—in support of Donald Trump’s campaign. Now, Trump is trying to give them their money’s worth. Trump told the NRA, “You came through for me, I am going to come through for you.” When Trump nominated Nielson, it was a gift back to the NRA.
Luckily, the Senate—not Trump—gets to decide whether Howard Nielson will be confirmed as a federal judge.
Call Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, and ask them to publicly commit to voting against Howard Nielson’s nomination.
CALL SCRIPTCaller: Hello! My name is [name] and I’m calling from [town, zip].
I’m calling to ask Senator [ ] to oppose the nomination of Howard Nielson Jr. for a federal judgeship in Utah. Nielsen has actively worked against LGBTQ+ people’s rights. In addition Nielson’s record on undermining gun violence prevention laws makes him the NRA’s favorite lawyer, and now is no time to be rewarding the NRA with judges who will spend a lifetime weakening gun laws.
I’d like to see Senator [name] publicly urge [his/her] colleagues to also oppose Nielson’s nomination.
Read more at: https://www.indivisible.org/resource/stop-nras-favorite-lawyer-becoming-federal-judge/
- Nielsen has argued that state bans on people under 21 purchasing handguns or publicly carrying firearms are unconstitutional, and that cities should not be able to ban semiautomatic rifles and large-capacity magazines.
- Nielsen supported drastically expanding the scope of the Second Amendment. While in a key position within George W. Bush’s Justice Department, Nielson authored a legal memo in 2004 that argued for an unprecedented, expansive interpretation of the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court later adopted this framework in a ruling that now makes it considerably harder for states to take measures to prevent gun violence within their borders, and Nielson helped to lay the groundwork for this change.
- Nielson defended the anti-LGBTQ Proposition 8 in California by arguing that the federal judge hearing the case should be disqualified for being gay.
- He also worked under Steven Bradbury (the architect of the Bush-era torture regime and a recently-confirmed Trump administration lawyer) during the George W. Bush administration, and assisted Bradbury in crafting the legal rationale to justify torture of detainees.
- In 2002, Nielson participated in the illegal politicization of the hiring process for civil servants at the Justice Department by screening out left-leaning candidates for openings.
- In 2014, Nielson represented congressional Republicans who sued the EPA to stop its plan to reduce carbon pollution.
- Nielson has aligned himself with torture apologists, opponents of the Affordable Care Act, and anti-choice activists.
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