Protecting Law-abiding Firearms Businesses from Abusive Lawsuits
In the late 1990s, a gun prohibition organization adopted a strategy previously used by Jim Crow government officials against the free press: filing abusive lawsuits designed to cripple the businesses through the sheer cost of litigation against meritless claims. In response, most states, Colorado included, enacted legislation against such misuse of the judicial process. Eventually, […]
How Powerful Are AR Rifles?
Originally published on Reason.com Several federal and state courts are relitigating the constitutionality of “assault weapon” bans after the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. Under Bruen‘s text-and-history test, government attorneys have argued that such laws fit within a supposed historical tradition of banning what the government calls “unusually […]
The Sources Cited by the Supreme Court in Bruen
Originally published on Reason.com This post lists all the sources cited by the majority opinion in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. The cites provide useful guidance to lower courts for analyzing Second Amendment cases. Since the Supreme Court’s June 2022 Bruen decision, government lawyers, with the assistance of gun prohibition lobbies, have been […]
‘Assault Weapon’ Still a Bogeyman for Colorado Pols
Originally published on Denvergazette.com As soon as the Colorado general assembly convenes in January, there will be “assault weapon” legislation. Yet “assault weapon” is a vague marketing term and has nothing to do with any gun’s firepower. In 1989, Colorado state Sen. Pat Pascoe introduced the first “assault weapon” bill in Colorado. It would have banned […]
The Legal History of Bans on Firearms and Bowie Knives before 1900
Originally published on Reason.com Bowie knives are back in constitutional law news these days, after a very long absence. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen decision instructs lower courts to look to U.S. legal history to see what sorts of restrictions on Second Amendment rights are consistent with the mainstream American legal tradition. According to the Court, […]
Bowie Knife Statutes 1837-1899
Originally published on Reason.com This post describes and analyzes nineteenth century state statutes on Bowie knives. It is a companion to my post The legal history of bans on firearms and Bowie knives before 1900, which described case law. As detailed in that article, the term “Bowie knife” because popular for knife marketing in America and […]
Preliminary Injunction Against New York Bans on Licensed Carry
Originally published on Reason.com Today U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby issued a preliminary injunction against many portions of New York’s recently enacted “Concealed Carry Improvement Act.” The act had been passed shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which upheld the Second Amendment right to […]
Boulder County’s New Gun Law Imperils Public
Originally published by The Denver Gazette Boulder’s elected officials self-identify as being progressive, tolerant, and realistic. Yet the gun-control package enacted recently by Boulder County commissioners is the opposite. Consider, for example, the new restrictions on the licensed carrying of firearms. Similar bans have been enacted in several Boulder County municipalities. Ever since 2003, Colorado has […]
Fourth Circuit Amicus Brief on Maryland Handgun Licensing Law
Originally published on Reason.com Today Joseph Greenlee and I filed an amicus brief in the Fourth Circuit case Maryland Shall Issue v. Hogan. Our brief is on behalf of the Firearms Policy Coalition Action Foundation (where he works) and Independence Institute (the Denver think tank where I work). The case had previously appeared in the Fourth […]
Restoring the right to bear arms, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen
Originally published: Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Aug. 8, 2022. Who among us is not eagerly awaiting the September 16 publication of the annual Cato Supreme Court Review? Among the articles I look forward to reading are the VC’s Ilya Somin on the vaccine mandate cases and Jonathan Adler on West Virginia v. E.P.A. If you want to […]
Restoring the Right to Bear Arms: NYSRPA v. Brueen
Originally published: Reason.com Who among us is not eagerly awaiting the September 16 publication of the annual Cato Supreme Court Review? Among the articles I look forward to reading are the VC’s Ilya Somin on the vaccine mandate cases and Jonathan Adler on West Virginia v. E.P.A. If you want to read about the Supreme Court’s […]
The Colorado and Ohio Model Programs That Train Teachers to Defeat Active Shooters
Originally published on Reason.com For many years there has been debate about allowing teachers to be armed to protect students. This post describes an established training program for teachers who choose to do so in compliance with school rules. The program is FASTER—short for Faculty/Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response. Introduced in Ohio, FASTER could be […]
