(Update with comments from Kagan in 2nd and 7th paragraphs)
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan said Tuesday she wouldn't try to undo recent rulings on gun ownership rights, citing judicial deference to precedent setting opinions.
Kagan, speaking at her Senate confirmation hearing, said the "operating assumption of our legal system is that a judge respects precedent. One defers to prior justices. It's not enough even if you think something is wrong."
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday that the U.S. Constitution includes a right to gun ownership for self defense. The ruling in McDonald v. Chicago builds on an earlier opinion, Columbia v. Heller, that struck down restrictive handgun ownership laws in Washington, D.C. and ruled for the first time that the Second Amendment was an individual right like the rest of the Bill of Rights.
Kagan's comments came as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) questioned her about her views of the gun rights rulings.
"States are different," Feinstein said "Why is a five-to-four decision in two quick cases, why does it throw out decades of precedent?"
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) pressed Kagan on her views of the Second Amendment and whether she believes that the right to bear arms is an individual right and whether she believes gun rights apply across the country.
Kagan would only say, "There's no question that going forward that Heller is the law, that it is entitled to all the precedent that any decision is entitled to."
Kagan was nominated to replace Justice John Paul Stevens, who announced his retirement earlier this year. She is currently the U.S. solicitor general, the primary legal advocate for the executive branch.
Copyright 2009 Dow Jones Newswires
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