Sixteen minutes, taped this afternoon, for iVoices.org. MP3 here. I also discussed the decision on Denver’s Caplis & Silverman radio show. Dennis Henigan, from the Brady Center, was the guest after me. The show’s archive link is here. Ignore the archive’s caption, which incorrectly states, “Do you agree with the Court? David Koppel opposes the […]
Archive | Guns
What Now for Limits on Gun Possession by 18-to-20-Year-Olds?
I suspect that even after McDonald, most gun controls will be upheld, either on the theory that certain kinds of gun possession are outside the scope of the Second Amendment as interpreted in Heller (e.g., bans on gun possession by felons), or on the theory that the gun control imposes only a slight burden on […]
McDonald v. City of Chicago and the Standard of Review for Gun Control Laws
I don’t have much that’s original or interesting to say about the historical and jurisprudential arguments made by the majority and the dissent in McDonald v. City of CHicago. But I did want to say a few words about the possible implications of McDonald. Let me begin with the question: How could McDonald affect the […]
Why Not the Privileges or Immunities Clause?
By Ilya Somin on June 28, 2010 4:04 pm in Constitutional History, Constitutional Theory, Guns, Originalism
In today’s Supreme Court decision incorporating the Second Amendment against the states, the four justice plurality opinion used the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to justify its ruling rather than the Privileges or Immunities Clause. As various commentators, including co-blogger Randy Barnett, have pointed out, it is strange that four conservative justices supposedly […]
Second Amendment Binds State and Local Governments, via the Fourteenth Amendment
So holds the Court in McDonald v. City of Chicago, by a 5-4 vote. The syllabus suggests that there were four votes (the five conservatives minus Justice Thomas) for the proposition that the Due Process Clause applies the Second Amendment to the states and their subdivisions; Justice Thomas concluded that it is the Privileges or […]
Family Research Council update
Perhaps partly in response to my VC post yesterday, the Family Research Council has corrected its prior claim that the conservative pro-gay group GOProud supported national handgun carry reciprocity as a means of advancing interstate recognition of gay marriages. As the FRC now correctly explains, the marriage argument was offered by Missouri Democratic Senator Claire […]
Family Research Council vs. the Second Amendment
A new piece from the Family Research Council blasts Grover Norquist (President of Americans for Tax Reform; Member of the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association) for joining the board of GOProud, an organization of conservative gay Republicans. Among the alleged sins on the GOProud agenda : Equalize “concealed carry reciprocity” amendment with […]
Massachusetts Trial Court Holds That “Safe Storage” Law Bars Storage in a Locked Box That Is in a Place from Which It Could Be Easily Stolen; Appellate Court Disagrees
It’s Commonwealth v. Lojko (Mass. App. Ct.), decided today (one paragraph break added): On February 20, 2008, Hyannis police Officer Eugene Desruisseaux was dispatched to the defendant’s residence as a result of a report that the defendant was suicidal and was threatening to harm himself and others with a firearm. After speaking with the defendant, […]
Thinking about the 2d Amendment standard of review and McDonald
That’s the topic I discuss in a new Cato Institute Daily Podcast. (9 1/2 minutes). I also discussed related topics with Cam Edwards on NRA News (June 21 show, last segment of the show, 22 minutes).
Guns + Medical Marijuana
From Willis v. Winters, decided today by that wild and crazy Oregon Court of Appeals: Respondent, the Jackson County Sheriff, appeals a judgment of the circuit court that ordered him to renew a concealed handgun license issued to petitioner, a medical marijuana user. The sheriff concedes that petitioner met the requirements for issuance of a […]
The Bad Old Days
We tend to think of the modern era, at least since the 1960s, as uniquely dangerous for political leaders. In fact, though, the most dangerous time for U.S. presidents was the era after the Civil War, as I was reminded recently while reading Wilderness Warrior, a biography of Teddy Roosevelt. Between 1860 and 1900, seven […]
The Dale Peterson Ad
I don’t live in Alabama and I’m not a registered Republican. But if I were, this ad would convince me not to vote in the primary for Dale Peterson for Agriculture Commissioner. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU7fhIO7DG0[/youtube] Somebody who’s been a Marine, a cop, and a farmer ought to know elementary gun safety. Yet when Peterson takes out a rifle […]
Juveniles on Probation, and Their Parents’ Guns (and Other Weapons)
Apropos the discussion below, what do you folks think of this Oregon county juvenile court probation policy (thanks to commenter Philistine for the pointer) (emphasis added)? 4. You are to only live with your parent(s) or court-approved guardian(s) …. 11. You are not to posses any weapon of any description including but not limited to […]
Father Must Remove All Guns from Home as Condition of Under-18-Year-Old Son’s Probation
An interesting decision, in People v. Javier A. (Cal. Ct. App. May 24). Javier A. was on probation, so when he was detained on suspicion of another crime, the police searched his home; Javier’s father, Emilio A., told the police there were two guns in the home. It turned out that one had been kept […]
Claim that Concealed Carry Permit Was Unconstitutionally Denied Based on Defendant’s Political Activity
Dorr v. Weber (N.D. Iowa May 18, 2010) allows the claim to proceed, under the Equal Protection Clause and the First Amendment. Of course, that’s not a finding that the permit was indeed denied because of Paul Dorr’s “community activism activities and association with the Osceola County Taxpayer Association,” as opposed to (according to the […]