Headline: 2012 case highlights Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch's 'pro-gun' record

As the vetting of President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch continues, a recent article from USA Today highlighted a 2012 case which details the judge's legal mindset when it comes to the Second Amendment.

From the article:

Advocates for and against gun control agree on this much: Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is a "pro-gun" judge and the proof is a 2012 court case in which he sided with a felon busted with a gun.

As a Circuit Court judge, Gorsuch found an unusual argument in that case compelling: The felon said he didn’t know he was a felon, and was thus unaware that he was barred from having a gun.

Gorsuch argued the law requires the government to go beyond prior precedent and prove the defendant knows he’s a felon — not just that he knew he had a gun.

The article quotes gun-rights advocates saying his role in U.S. v. Miguel Games-Perez proves his deep commitment to the Second Amendment.

“He will protect our right to keep and bear arms and is an outstanding choice to fill Justice Scalia’s seat,” said Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action.

Again, from the article:

[Gorsuch] was part of a three-judge panel that took up Games-Perez’s appeal in January 2012 after he had violated the terms of a 2009 attempted robbery guilty plea. His agreement with the court banned him from possessing firearms.

Denver police caught Games-Perez less than a year later holding a pistol with an obliterated serial number, according to court documents. Games-Perez argued he didn’t know he was a convicted felon because of an ambiguous discussion with a judge about his conviction.

Gorsuch reluctantly sided against Games-Perez’s appeal as part of the three judge panel, writing it was his duty to follow circuit court precedent, even if it is incorrect. Though he voted to affirm the lower court’s conviction, he still delighted gun rights advocates with his reason for why the government should have to prove a defendant knew of his prior felony conviction.

“After all, there is ‘a long tradition of widespread lawful gun ownership by private individuals in this country,’ and the Supreme Court has held the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to own firearms and may not be infringed lightly,” he wrote, quoting Supreme Court rulings.

Judge Gorsuch was appointed to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals by President George W. Bush in 2006, and sailed through the Senate on a voice vote. His confirmation hearings are slated to begin on March 20.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.