Rep. Darrell Issa at the Capitol. Photo courtesy of his office
Rep. Darrell Issa was a lone voice among the San Diego Congressional delegation Friday in praising the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade and voting against a bi-partisan gun safety bill.
“Today is a great day for the cause and the principle of life,” said Issa, arguing that in overturning the 49-year-old precedent the Justices were doing their job to “interpret the Constitution as written” and not “make laws or rewrite laws.”
Later on Friday, Issa voted against a bi-partisan gun safety bill that was passed in the Senate in response to the deadly mass shootings at a supermarket in Buffalo and an elementary school in Texas.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act enhances background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21, requiring authorities to examine juvenile records. It provides millions of dollars for states to implement “red flag laws” to temporarily confiscate guns, and funds mental health, school safety and crisis intervention programs.
Issa’s vote was not a surprise. On Wednesday he tweeted, “I’ve seen enough. The Senate gun control bill is totally unacceptable. I will absolutely vote no.”
The House voted 234-193 to pass the the bill and send it to President Biden for signature. The vote came one day after a Supreme Court ruling broadly expanded the right of Americans to carried concealed weapons.
Issa, who represents East County, is the sole Republican in the San Diego County congressional delegation. He originally represented the 49th District in coastal North County, but retired for two years, and then ran for election in the more conservative 50th District after Duncan Hunter’s resignation.