Ketanji Brown Jackson Applauds New Zealand’s Assault Weapons Ban At Harvard Commencement

The future Supreme Court Justice; Ketanji Brown Jackson was seen applauding New Zealand’s assault weapons ban during Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s commencement speech at Harvard University last week as gun control rhetoric escalates among lawmakers following recent mass shootings.

Ardern during her speech, boasted of her government’s achievements since she assumed office, which included legalizing gay marriage, and “banning military-style semi-automatics and assault rifles.”

Ketanji Jackson began applauding after the gun remark as the prime minister received a standing ovation from the Ivy League graduates, Fox News reported.

Jackson’s applause comes as Democrats across the country have used recent shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York to renew calls for a U.S. ban on “assault” weapons, which are typically defined as semi-automatic weapons with certain features and attachments.

“We need to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines,” President Biden said in a televised address Thursday night. He has also called for raising the age to purchase firearms, tougher background checks, and “red-flag laws.

Meanwhile, some states already have assault weapons bans in place, while other states are looking at passing them in the wake of those shootings. The federal government last passed an assault weapons ban in 1994, which expired in 2004.

Jackson was confirmed by the Senate in April after being nominated by President Biden and will sit on the nation’s highest court and will succeed Justice Stephen Breyer after he steps down at the end of the Supreme Court term this summer. She will be the first Black female justice on the court.