Local Officials Vow To Shield the Public from Virginia's Authoritarian New Gun Laws
A new chapter in the never-ending battle between centralized power and local control.
Gun Control
SCOTUS Overturns Hawaii's Default Rule Against Guns on Private Property Open to the Public
The decision means similar laws in other states likewise violate the Second Amendment, and it casts doubt on the constitutionality of location-specific gun bans that cover a lot of territory.
Supreme Court Ruling Offers Hope to an Iowa Marijuana User Who Got 4 Years for Owning Guns
The Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Hemani could open the door to relief for cannabis consumers convicted of illegal gun possession.
SCOTUS Unanimously Ruled That the Second Amendment Trumps Anti-Drug Sentiment
The decision is a modest but welcome step toward rectifying the injustice of criminalizing conduct that violates no one’s rights.
Clarence Thomas Explains Why the Commerce Clause Cannot Justify Federal Bans on Gun Possession
Even under the Supreme Court's highly elastic understanding of that clause, Thomas says, such laws do not qualify as regulation of interstate commerce.
Survey: More Americans Are Carrying Concealed Guns
Three in 10 Americans at least occasionally carry a firearm.
Supreme Court Makes It Clear There Is No Drug Exception to the Second Amendment
The unanimous decision upholding the gun rights of cannabis consumers is striking given the Supreme Court's long history of accommodating the war on drugs.
Colorado Gun Owners Sue Over New Law Allowing Warrantless Access to Dealer Records
Law enforcement in Colorado can now inspect the records of any firearms dealer in the state "at all times" without a warrant, probable cause, or limits.
Maryland Court Rules Against Unconstitutional Stop-and-Frisk in Victory for State's Gun Owners
In a unanimous opinion, the court ruled that it is unconstitutional for officers to stop and frisk someone based solely on suspicion that the person is carrying a gun.
Virginia's New 'Assault Firearm' Ban Is Plainly Unconstitutional, a Federal Lawsuit Argues
Three Second Amendment groups say the law violates the right to own arms in common use for self-defense and other lawful purposes.
The Trump Administration Is a Powerful but Unreliable Ally of Second Amendment Advocates
Even as the Justice Department files lawsuits aimed at vindicating gun rights, it undermines them in other cases.
How the ACLU Started Defending the Second Amendment
The civil liberties group, which long maintained that there is no constitutional right to arms, sang a different tune at the Supreme Court this year.
DOJ Challenges Denver's 'Assault Weapon' Ban and Colorado's Magazine Limit
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon argues that both laws violate the Second Amendment by banning arms in common use for lawful purposes.
The Gun Debate Hasn't Changed in 500 Years
Guns disrupted the established order—and sparked modern-sounding debates over whether they could be effectively regulated.
Trump v. Second Amendment: The Administration Is Trying To Selectively Apply Gun Rights
Trump and his underlings seem less inclined to worry about the Second Amendment when it protects people outside the MAGA coalition.
3D-Printed Guns Are Getting Good
If I can build a functional, unregistered handgun in less than two hours, so can you.
Virginia's Impending 'Assault Firearm' Ban Is Logically and Constitutionally Dubious
The ban, which targets guns based on criteria that make little sense, seems vulnerable to a challenge under the Supreme Court's Second Amendment precedents.
Here Are 12 Bills Democrats Just Passed To Trample Gun Rights in Virginia
Some gun-rights activists are blaming immigrants, but the real culprits are Virginia Democrats.
Civil Libertarians Left and Right Unite To Oppose Disarming Cannabis Consumers
A Supreme Court case illustrates the potential for trans-partisan alliances between critics of gun control and critics of the war on drugs.
An Iowa Pot User Serving 4 Years for Gun Possession Gets Another Chance To Challenge His Prosecution
Alexander Ledvina was convicted of violating a federal law at the center of a Second Amendment case that the Supreme Court is considering.
SCOTUS Seems Skeptical of the Federal Ban on Gun Possession by Cannabis Consumers
Most of the justices seemed unsatisfied by the Trump administration's argument that the law is constitutional as applied to a Texas marijuana user.
The ACLU, Long Leery of the Second Amendment, Joins the NRA in Urging SCOTUS To Uphold Pot Users' Gun Rights
"We see this as an important civil liberties issue," says an ACLU lawyer.
If 'You Bring a Gun' to D.C., U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro Warns, 'You're Going to Jail'
The prosecutor's threat renewed concerns about the Trump administration's commitment to protecting Second Amendment rights.
The NRA and NORML Unite To Oppose the Federal Gun Ban for Marijuana Users
Drug policy reformers and Second Amendment advocates team up in a case before the Supreme Court.
Democrats Advance 7 Bills Restricting Gun Rights in the Virginia State Senate
They’re not getting the whole “shall not be infringed” part of the U.S. and Virginia constitutions.
Disarming Millions of Americans Simply Because They Use Marijuana Is Unconstitutional, a SCOTUS Brief Says
The Liberty Justice Center is urging the Supreme Court to uphold a 5th Circuit decision rejecting the claim that cannabis consumers have no Second Amendment rights.
Alex Pretti's Death Widens a Split Between Trump and Gun Rights Groups
Federal officials suggested that carrying a firearm is inherently threatening and an invitation to police violence.
SCOTUS Seems Inclined To Reject Hawaii's Default Rule Against Guns on Private Property Open to the Public
The state requires carry permit holders to obtain advance permission before bringing firearms into businesses.
19 States That Legalized Marijuana Use Nevertheless Say It Should Disqualify People From Owning Guns
They are joining the Trump administration in urging the Supreme Court to uphold a federal law that disarms "unlawful" drug consumers.
California's Ban on Openly Carrying Guns Is Unconstitutional, 9th Circuit Says
The ruling, which emphasizes the lack of historical support for such a law, is unlikely to survive en banc review.
The DOJ Assails D.C.'s 'Assault Weapon' Ban As an Arbitrary, Historically Ungrounded Gun Law
The department's lawsuit notes that the prohibited firearms are "in common use" for "lawful purposes," meaning they are covered by the Second Amendment.
Good News for D.C.'s Gun Owners
Plus: Homeownership myths and realities, discrimination at the theater, career diplomats brought home, and more...
Shootings at Bondi and Brown
Plus: Chile elects a right-winger, Jimmy Lai gets convicted, midair collision narrowly averted, and more...
The DOJ Says It Will Challenge Unconstitutional Gun Policies. Maybe It Should Stop Defending Them.
The Justice Department's litigation positions are at odds with its avowed intent to protect Second Amendment rights.
Why Gun Groups Oppose Transgender Gun Bans
It's not surprising that the NRA and other Second Amendment advocates spoke out against a trans firearm ban floated by the Trump administration.
This Gun Case Harks Back to Constitutional Concerns About the Limits of Federal Power That Now Seem Quaint
Congress justified that National Firearms Act of 1934 as a revenue measure—a rationale undermined by the repeal of taxes on suppressors and short-barreled rifles.
Will SCOTUS Resolve the Circuit Split on a Law That Disarms People With Nonviolent Criminal Records?
Steven Duarte is one of several petitioners who are asking the justices to address the constitutionality of that absurdly broad gun ban.
New Jersey Cops Took His Guns Because They Were Worried About His Wife's Mental Health
Elsid Aliaj says the seizure violated state law and the Second Amendment.
Trump, an Avowed Second Amendment Champion, Defends a Gun Ban With 'No Historical Justification'
His administration is urging the Supreme Court to uphold a prosecution for violating a federal law that bars illegal drug users from owning firearms.
SCOTUS Will Consider the Constitutionality of the Federal Ban on Gun Possession by Illegal Drug Users
The law applies to millions of Americans who pose no plausible threat to public safety, including cannabis consumers in states that have legalized marijuana.
California's Latest Dumb Gun Law is a Ban on Glocks
According to California lawmakers, Kamala Harris’s pistol is a potential machinegun.
The NRA Supports SCOTUS Petitioners Who Lost Their Gun Rights Because of Nonviolent Offenses
The cases give the justices a chance to address a constitutionally dubious policy that disarms peaceful Americans.
2 Controversies Over Political Rhetoric Illustrate the Perils of Blaming Gun Control Critics for Murder
That strategy, which rejects the possibility of sincere disagreement, is poisonous to rational debate.
SCOTUS Will Consider a Challenge to Hawaii's Default Rule Against Guns on Private Property Open to the Public
The law is one of several attempts to override the right to bear arms by making it impractical to exercise.
The 9th Circuit Overturns a Man's Conviction for Holding a Shotgun on the Sidewalk in Front of His House
The decision, which hinges on an exception to the Gun-Free School Zones Act, does not say whether that law is consistent with the Second Amendment.
Why Banning Drugs and Guns Never Works
Reason’s Jacob Sullum traces the shared failures of drug prohibition and gun laws, showing how both undermine civil liberties, racial justice, and commonsense safety.
No, It Wasn't Ironic That Second Amendment Advocate Charlie Kirk Was Shot
All liberty involves tradeoffs. So does repressing liberty.
