WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 /U.S. Newswire/ — “Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York gets the Civil Liberties Infringement Prize for his leadership in blocking an up-or-down judicial confirmation vote today on the nomination of Alabama Attorney General Bill Pryor,” John Michael Snyder, public affairs director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), said here this afternoon.

Pryor, an outstanding defender of constitutional civil rights, including the individual Second Amendment civil right to keep and bear arms, has been nominated by President George W. Bush for a seat on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senate today for the second time failed to overcome a Schumer-led filibuster to prevent a confirmation vote.

Snyder, named Dean of gun lobbyists by national media, noted that, “Schumer has taken the Senate helm in blocking the will of the people. As the arrogant chieftain of the Senate nay-sayers, he is the real Senator No. A genuine reactionary.”

Ever since Schumer came to Congress as a Representative, continued Snyder, “he has worked in different ways to undermine the traditional right of law-abiding American citizens to keep and bear arms. As political developments have shown, Schumer is on the wrong side of history in this regard. Recent news reports generally have noted a political shift on this issue, a shift in favor of the right to keep and bear arms.

“But this hasn’t stopped Schumer! No way! Senator No is trying to thwart political progress. He’s trying to substitute his personal whim for the will of the people. His outrageous performance, and the outrageous performances of the Senators who voted with him today against stopping the filibuster, is proof of that.”

CCRKBA, reported Snyder, last month named Pryor its Gun Rights Defender of the Month Awardee.

“There’s a real contrast between the two men,” said Snyder. “One, Pryor, would use the judicial system to honor the rights of the people. The other, Schumer, would use government to thwart the will of the people, to undermine their civil rights. There is a real struggle taking place right here in the Nation’s Capital, in the Halls of Congress.”