On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights will hold a hearing “Proposals to Reduce Gun Violence: Protecting Our Communities While Respecting the Second Amendment.” Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is Chair of the Subcommittee, and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is the Ranking Member. The Subcommittee has solicited letters […]
Archive | Guns
Evolving Christian Attitudes Towards Personal and National Self-Defense
A forthcoming issue of the Connecticut Law Review will feature a symposium on an article by Prof. Nicholas Johnson (Fordham) about the changing attitudes of the Black leadership towards firearms. In brief, Black leadership was historically very supportive the right to keep and bear arms, and particularly concerned that Blacks be able to have firearms […]
Can Being Drunk in Your Home, Where You Have a Gun Stored, Be a Crime?
No, says the Michigan Court of Appeals in People v. DeRoche (Mich. Ct. App. Jan. 30, 2013) (citing the Second Amendment and that noted Second Amendment precedent, People v. Yanna): Two Novi police officers were dispatched to a call regarding a verbal altercation. Upon arrival at the scene, they were informed by a man identified […]
David Mamet on Guns
Preeminent playwright David Mamet has a provocative essay about gun laws here. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says in this piece, but it is always a pleasure to see his libertarian instincts on full display. I am proud to say that I gave Mamet a copy of John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty in […]
The Dick Act and Gun Control
The first federal statutes governing the Militia of the United States were enacted in 1792. There were some revisions in 1795. During the Civil War, an amendment removed the language that had restricted federal militia membership to free whites. The old militia statutes were repealed and replaced by the Militia Act of 1903, 32 Stat. […]
MSNBC’s Harris-Perry on my gun research: “The minutia of . . . replicating data turned into a politically consequential battle that shifted the discourse on guns in America”
On MSNBC over the weekend, Melissa Harris-Perry had some very kind words to say about some of my research a decade ago on guns in early America and the errors of Michael Bellesiles’s Arming America: MSNBC: Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy After a half-minute set-up, Harris-Perry discusses my […]
Ronald Reagan’s AR-15
In June 1992, retired President Ronald Reagan was presented with some gifts from the American Shooting Sports Council, a trade association for the firearms industry. (ASSC later merged with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, an older industry group.) The gifts were a Colt semi-automatic AR-15 rifle, a gold-engraved Colt Single Action Army .45 revolver, and a […]
Activities for Gun Appreciation Day
Saturday, January 19, is Gun Appreciation Day. Americans are urged to “go to your local gun store, gun range, or gun show” and to show their support for Second Amendment rights. The blog Shall Not Be Questioned, which has long been one of the most influential and thoughtful pro-RKBA blogs, endorses Gun Appreciation Day, but raises some important caveats. […]
Gun Crime Against 12-to-17-Year-Olds Supposedly Fell 95% from 1994 to 2010
That’s what the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports, based on National Crime Victimization Survey data: The rate was 11.4/1000 12-to-17-year-olds in 1994, and 0.6/1000 in 2010. (To be precise, the study spoke of “serious violent crime” — rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault — using firearms, but most firearm crime against someone [except […]
How to stop school shootings right now: Abolish pretend “gun-free zones”
Real gun-free zones (enforced by metal detectors backed up by armed security guards) are fine for certain buildings. Pretend gun-free zones (bans on gun carrying by licensed people, but no procedures to keep out criminal gun carriers, and exacerbated by the absence of armed security) are magnets for mass killers. There is a reason why […]
Are Blunt Objects More Common Homicide Weapons Than Rifles?
This Breitbart.com column says so: According to the FBI annual crime statistics, the number of murders committed annually with hammers and clubs far outnumbers the number of murders committed with a rifle…. [For instance, i]n 2005, the number of murders committed with a rifle was 445, while the number of murders committed with hammers and […]
The First Amendment, the Second Amendment, and Article V
I’m not sure how much attention to pay to petitions on the White House site. Once upon a time, getting 25,000 written signatures on something through word of mouth or newspaper articles would have been a big deal; but today, getting that number of electronic signatures using e-mail and social media strikes me as not […]
Up to $50/Year Fee (+ Up to 30-Day Waiting Period) for Buying Ammunition or Going Target-Shooting?
That’s what California Senator Kevin De Leon, chair of the California Senate Democratic Caucus, is proposing in California (bill text). To buy ammunition, you’d need to submit an application with a fee (which will be up to $50), and wait up to 30 days while the state conducts a background check. And the permit would […]
So What Are We Going to Do About It?
After the Sandy Hook school shooting, as well as after other shootings, those of us who are skeptical about gun controls are often asked: So what are we suggesting should be done about the shootings? If we’re not suggesting gun controls (as opposed to proposals such as allowing teachers to be armed, increased concealed carry […]
Goldberg & Kopel on Guns and Gun Control
The December 2012 issue of The Atlantic features a lengthy article by Jeffrey Goldberg, “The Case for More Guns (And More Gun Control).” Though written before the Newton massacre, the article is quite timely and relevant — and provides much food for thought. The VC’s own David Kopel was among those Goldberg interviewed for the […]