At Balkinization, Andy Koppelman has witty – and wise – rejoinder to the discussion Nick and I have had here about the plural of “Arms“: If this strict textualism is to be followed, there is an interesting implication: perhaps there is only a right to bear “arms” – plural – but not to bear a […]
Archive | Guns
Full Faith and Credit, Pardons, and Gun Rights
From Blackwell v. Haslam (Tenn. Ct. App. June 28, 2013) (paragraph breaks added): This appeal involves the Full Faith and Credit Clause and firearm rights. The petitioner was convicted of felony drug offenses in Georgia. The State of Georgia granted the petitioner a full pardon for his crimes; his Georgia pardon expressly restored his right […]
Chicago: From a Handgun Ban to a Right to Carry Concealed Handguns
Illinois has just become a shall-issue state, which means that pretty much any law-abiding adult age 21 and above can get a license to carry a concealed handgun in public. To be sure, something will depend on how the law is implemented, and my understanding is that gun rights supporters see the law as narrower […]
Arms and Persons
Eugene Kontorovich has argued that the plural “Arms” in the Second Amendment implies a right to more than one gun per person. I argued that “Arms” had to be plural to match “the right of the People,” plural, and so the plural tells us nothing about number of guns per person. Eugene responds with a […]
Response to Prof. Rosenkranz: ArmS & the Man – or Arms & the People
By Eugene Kontorovich on July 9, 2013 2:33 pm in Constitutional Amendments, Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory, Fourth Amendment, Guns, Originalism, Right to carry, Self-Defense
Nick takes issue with my suggestion that the Second Amendment on its face bars laws restricting people to one gun, such as that currently proposed by Gov. Quinn in Illinois. My (first) argument is not an originalist or purposivist one, but rather a purely textual one. The primary meaning of “arms” is plural. Nick argues […]
Does the Plural “Arms” Imply Multiple Guns Per Person?
Eugene Kontorovich has posted (here and here) arguing that it would be unconstitutional to limit each person to carrying only one gun, because the word “Arms” in the Second Amendment is plural. I applaud his attention to text, and I am sympathetic to his bottom line, but I don’t find the textual argument persuasive. The […]
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms and People Who Appear to Lack “Emotional Stability” at a Court Hearing
From In re Hahn (N.Y. App. Div. 2013): Proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 (initiated in this Court pursuant to CPLR 506[b][1]) to review a determination of respondent which revoked petitioner’s pistol license. [As I understand it, this is a license required to possess a handgun even at home, and not a license that allows […]
“A Good Musket” and Bearing Arms
By Eugene Kontorovich on July 8, 2013 11:37 am in Constitutional Amendments, Constitutional Theory, Guns, Militia, Originalism, Right to carry
I’ve been discussing whether the right to bear arms is infringed by laws limiting people to bearing only one “arm”, as a proposal by Illinois Gov. Quinn seeks to do. Perhaps the best evidence for a singular reading of “arms” is the Second Militia Act of 1792, section 1, which provides, in part, that a […]
Is the Right to Bear Arms Plural?
By Eugene Kontorovich on July 8, 2013 10:04 am in Constitutional Amendments, Constitutional Law, Guns, Militia, Originalism, Right to carry, Seventh Circuit, Uncategorized
Tomorrow, Illinois’ concealed carry laws will become ineffective, having been held unconstitutional by the Seventh Circuit several months ago. The Court kept the unconstitutional law on life support for a few months to give the legislature time to craft a replacement measure. Springfield responded, but now that bill has been vetoed by Governor Quinn. If […]
Ice-T, Volokh, and Kopel: Together at last in a feature film
By David Kopel on June 23, 2013 3:12 pm in Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Guns, History, McDonald v. City of Chicago, Popular Culture, Registration, Self-Defense, Terrorism
The film is Assaulted: Civil Rights under Fire. It opened Friday in a limited theatrical release. Assaulted tells the modern and historic story of the Second Amendment, with a particular focus on civil rights. The events include Reconstruction, the Deacons for Defense, the Battle of Athens, the post-Katrina gun confiscations, and much more. The narrator is Ice-T. […]
Is Mayor Bloomberg’s “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” Anti-Gun?
Washington Post, Jan. 23, 2007: “Bloomberg said the group is not anti-gun and does not oppose the constitutional right to bear arms. ‘This is about getting guns out of the hands of criminals,’ Bloomberg said.” Jacksonville.com, Mar. 4, 2008: “Asked about the loophole, Bloomberg said, ‘It’s outrageous … I don’t have a problem with guns. […]
Louisiana Set to Criminalize Publishing That Someone Has a Concealed Carry Permit
The bill is HB8, though there’s a Senate amendment; apparently, the Legislature plans to enact the bill as amended. The bill bars the government from releasing information about who has applied for or gotten a concealed carry permit, and the Legislature certainly can impose such restrictions on the government itself. But then it also criminalizes […]
Colorado Sheriffs file Second Amendment lawsuit against anti-gun bills
On Friday, May 17, fifty-four Colorado Sheriffs filed a civil rights lawsuit in Federal District Court in Denver, against two anti-gun bills passed by the Colorado legislature in March. Joining the Sheriffs as Plaintiffs are the Colorado Farm Bureau, disabled persons, Outdoor Buddies (an organization that helps disabled persons participate in outdoor sports), the Colorado […]
Nullification Nonsense
Earlier this week I took Steve Benen to task for suggesting that state governments could not refuse to enforce federal laws. Benen had suggested that such decisions were tantamount to nullification. (A claim he has walked back, to his credit.) While Benen’s outrage was a bit misplaced in the post I critiqued, it’s not as […]
Illinois County Public Housing Gun Ban Repealed, Following Second Amendment Foundation Lawsuit
The Warren County (Illinois) Housing Authority had banned gun possession by tenants, even in their own apartments. The Second Amendment Foundation sued on Second Amendment grounds, and the Authority agreed to repeal the ban; the repeal apparently took effect December 1, but I just learned about this today, when the District Court released its opinion […]