NRA Puts Weight Behind Opposing Kagan

The National Rifle Association announced today that it plans to oppose the confirmation of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court and that votes in support of her "will be considered in NRA's future candidate evaluations."

In a letter addressed to Senators Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Jeff Sessions, R-Alab., the ranking members on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the group said that based on Kagan's record on guns, it had no choice but to oppose her confirmation.

"As she has no judicial record on which we can rely, we have only her political record to review," the letter said. "And throughout her political career, she has repeatedly demonstrated a clear hostility to the fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution."

During her confirmation hearings, Kagan was repeatedly asked about her views on the Second Amendment, especially with respect to the Supreme Court's Monday ruling in McDonald v. Chicago, which limited the government's ability to restrict gun rights.

In responding to these questions, Kagan maintained that recent gun rulings have set clear precedent that amounts to "settled law." But she avoided stating her personal opinion on the issue.

According to their letter, the NRA was particularly unsettled by this move.

"[Supreme Court nominees] often speak in terms of 'settled law' or 'I understand the right,'" the letter read. "When those statements are contradicted by an entire body of work over a nominee's career, however, it would be foolhardy to simply take them at face value."

The NRA also mentioned Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who during her confirmation hearings last year said that she supported an earlier high court decision on gun rights as settled law. She then voted with the dissenting minority in the McDonald case.

"Justice Sotomayor's blatant reversal on this critical issue requires that we look beyond statements made during confirmation hearings and examine a nominee's entire body of work," said the NRA, adding: "Unfortunately, Ms. Kagan's record on the Second Amendment gives us no confidence that if confirmed to the Court, she will faithfully defend the fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms of law-abiding Americans."

Sen. Jeff Cornyn, R-Tex., expressed similar reservations to CBS News Chief Legal Correspondent Jan Crawford on a special edition of Washington Unplugged Wednesday. Yet he conceded, "I think there is a certain value in getting a commitment from the nominee that they respect the difference between this role and that of a legislator. And I think her statement that these decisions, even if she disagrees with them, are settled law is important."

More Coverage of the Kagan Hearings:

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Washington Unplugged: Analysis of the Kagan Hearings
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CBSNews.com Special Report: Elena Kagan