Self-Defense in the Jewish Tradition
Second Amendment scholar Dave Kopel gave this speech, Self-Defense in the Jewish Tradition, at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs in October 2018.
The Ever-Shifting Definition of “Assault Weapons”
Originally published on Reason.com What is an “assault weapon”? That was the question I addressed in a short article for the The Regulatory Review, at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. The Regulatory Review publishes short articles–about a thousand words–on a wide range of regulatory issues. In November, The Regulatory Review produced a nine-article series, Bringing […]
Do Some Courts Underenforce the Second Amendment?
Originally published on Reason.com This Fall, the Duke Law Journal held a symposium Heller at Ten: A Symposium on From Theory to Doctrine. All of the articles are, at least partially, responses to an article Eric Ruben and Joseph Blocher that analyzed data for all post-Heller cases, from 2008 until early 2016. From Theory to Doctrine: […]
Supreme Court Should Clarify Second Amendment Test
Originally published on Reason.com Today I filed an amicus brief in support of the cert. petition in Mance v. Whitaker. The case is a challenge to the federal ban on interstate handgun sales. But more importantly, it is a good vehicle for the Court to clarify how lower courts should review Second Amendment challenges. Background: In […]
The 1986 Plastic Gun Panic
Originally published on Reason.com Have you heard about the “undetectable plastic gun”? The gun control lobbies call it is “tailor-made for terrorism.” The Washington Post reports that a state sponsor of terrorism is already attempting to obtain these guns. A Post columnist warns that the police “vehemently oppose the introduction of plastic guns into our armed […]
Ninth Circuit Strikes Hawaii Law That Only Security Guards May Get Handgun Carry Permits
Originally published on Reason.com Today a 2-1 Ninth Circuit panel held that Hawaii’s near-total prohibition on the carrying of handguns for lawful self-defense violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Under binding precedent from a previous case, Peruta v. San Diego (Peruta II), concealed carry is not a Second Amendment right. However, Hawaii requires a […]
Ninth Circuit Upholds Preliminary Injunction Against Magazine Confiscation in California
Originally published on Reason.com Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal district count injunction against a California law to confiscate firearms magazines that hold over 10 rounds. The Ninth Circuit’s 2-1 opinion is here, and the dissent is here. My analysis of the 2017 district court opinion is here. Background: In 2016, California […]
US Government Drops Prohibition on Files for 3D Printed Arms
Originally published on Reason.com Last week the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of State settled a lawsuit and agreed to end their prior restraint of distribution of computer files for the production of 3D printed firearms. The “International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)” are a collection of regulations covering the export of military weapons […]
Judge Kavanaugh and the Second Amendment
Originally published on Reason.com No nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court has had such a detailed record on Second Amendment as does Brett Kavanaugh. His 2011 dissenting opinion in the case known as Heller II was consistent with his long-standing adherence to text, history, tradition, and Supreme Court precedent. Background: In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court […]
Deerfield, Illinois Gun Confiscation Law Is Blocked by State Court
Originally published on Reason.com Yesterday a firearm and magazine confiscation ordinance in the Chicago suburb of Deerfield was blocked on by a temporary restraining order. The Lake County Circuit Court held that the ordinance violates a state preemption statute. The court’s opinion is attached to this post. Procedural history: The Deerfield ordinance was enacted on April […]
In the wake of a gun ban, Venezuela sees rising homicide rate
Since April 2017, at least 163 pro-democracy protesters in Venezuela have been murdered by the Maduro dictatorship. Venezuela serves as an example of how gun prohibition can sometimes encourage gun crime. In 2012, the communist-dominated Venezuelan National Assembly enacted the “Control of Arms, Munitions and Disarmament Law.” The bill’s stated objective was to “disarm all citizens.” […]
Gun ban for young adults would be wholly unconstitutional
Besides violating the laws of some states and cities, firearms bans for young adults also violate the Constitution. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Supreme Court reiterated that “[c]onstitutional rights are enshrined with the scope they were understood to have when the people adopted them.” When the Second Amendment was adopted, there were no firearms restrictions on 18-to-20-year-olds, and they were included in every militia across the country.
