WASHINGTON – As House Democrats continued their gun control sit-in, one West Virginia political leader was calling out another for his “assault on due process.”
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey sent a letter to U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, who last week said “due process is what’s killing us right now” when it comes to striking a deal on gun control.
The Hill, a Washington-based political publication, reported June 22 that Morrisey, a Republican, sent the letter to Manchin, a Democrat, on Wednesday.
In the story headlined “Red-state Dem faces flak over gun comments,” The Hill reports that Morrisey’s letter to Manchin said it is “absurd to suggest that we are being harmed or should compromise our constitutionally-guaranteed right to due process.”
“The long-established right to due process is not killing us, nor should it be viewed as a burdensome firewall that gets in the way of your preferred legislation, whatever its policy merits," Morrisey wrote.
During an interview last week on MSNBC, Manchin said due process issues are stalling an agreement on gun control legislation.
"The problem we have, and really the firewall we have right now, is due process,” he said on “Morning Joe.” “It's all due process.
"Can’t we say that, if a person is under suspicion there should be a 5-year period of time that we have to see good behavior if this person continues the same traits? Maybe we can come to that kind of agreement. But due process is what’s killing us right now.”
Manchin told The Daily Caller those comments were “taken totally out of context.”
“It’s what we’re trying to protect – due process,” he said then.
In his letter, Morrisey said he doesn’t think Manchin's comments were misinterpreted, asking Manchin to take "into account the importance of due process in your deliberation" as gun control is debated.
"As fellow public servants of the people of West Virginia, I know we share a desire to protect the best interests of our constituents," the letter begins. "While we do not always agree on how to do this, I have always respected your efforts. ...
"Reasonable people can, and do, disagree on gun control measures. But it is absurd to suggest that we are being harmed by or should compromise our constitutionally-guaranteed right to due process.
"Due process of law is one of our most fundamental rights. It traces its roots to the Magna Carta in 1215, and is enshrined in our Bill of Rights. Due process protects the liberty of the people from encroachment by the government without an opportunity to be heard; it ensures that every individual receives a fair hearing before the government may deprive him or her of a protected right."
Manchin's comments came in the wake of the June 12 Orlando shootings that left 49 people at a nightclub dead and 53 others injured. The gunman was killed after a three-hour standoff. It is the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history.
"Joe Manchin's D.C. plan is clear," West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Conrad Lucas said in a statement. "Instead of making Americans safer by policing our borders and keeping a watch on radical Islam, Manchin follows every liberal voice and tries to take the freedoms of those who live in liberty in America.
“Once again, Manchin joins Obama in making us less safe and thwarting the Constitution. Thank God for Patrick Morrisey and his courage to defend our Constitution, our state and our freedoms from those who would surrender them like Joe Manchin."
Last week, Manchin joined a 15-hour Senate filibuster by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) to renew his call for expanded background checks on gun sales and for barring people on the terrorist watch list from buying guns.
In 2010, Manchin shot the “Cap & Trade” bill in a television ad when he first ran for the Senate to finish the term left by the death of Robert Byrd. Some political observers have mentioned Morrisey as a possible challenger to Manchin’s seat in 2018.