Recognizing the difference between substantive and procedural rights helps enormously in understanding the battles over applying the first eight amendments of the U.S. Constitution to the states. Procedural rights have failed; not only have they not improved procedures, they have made things worse.
Substantive rights have a core that can be meaningfully interpreted and protected; they can exist independently of a particular government or a particular legal system. Procedural rights lack such an independent core because they are necessarily embedded in a whole system of legal procedure, and they depend on that system for their meaning.
The verdict was chiefly based on the actions of protesters and arsonists; the Georgia Court of Appeals rejected it, and the Georgia Supreme Court has just refused to rehear the case.
Although the affinities between the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and the Seventh Amendment right to civil jury trial seem strong, there are crucial differences. The first concerns individual accountability and the ability to understand responsibilities; the second concerns the distinction between substantive rights and procedural rights.
A Supreme Court decision against New York's gun control scheme would be a victory for both criminal justice reform and the Second Amendment.
Founding realities refute New York’s arguments supporting its gun carry ban.
Former Judge Luttig's arguments are off base.
The Massachusetts Model was not a carry ban and required aggressive behavior before it applied.
New York takes a long shot at saving its firearm carry ban.
New York’s Supreme Court brief on the Second Amendment is flawed.
The justices robe up for another term.
Young people who came of age after 9/11 aren't snowflakes despite being exposed to a series of catastrophic events and apocalyptic news narratives.
"Restrictions on guns in public spaces are appropriate to make public spaces safe for democratic participation."
Plus: ACLU rewrites Ruth Bader Ginsburg, theaters sue over NYC vaccine passports, and more...
By and large, those schemes (like Texas’s SB 8 liability for abortion providers) must be fought by raising the Constitution as a defense in a civil lawsuit—not through preenforcement challenges.
Stopping the import of Russian ammo is just pretending to do something noble.
Getting a law passed is not the same thing as getting people to obey.
So holds the Third Circuit, applying intermediate scrutiny to a limit on center-fire rifle shooting and to a requirement that clubs be nonprofit.
The laws require that “individuals purchase a handgun ... within 10 days of obtaining a permit to acquire” (Hawaii law requires such a permit) and that “individuals physically bring their firearm to the police department for in-person inspection and registration within five days of acquiring it.”
"Any contrary holding 'would eviscerate Fourth Amendment protections for lawfully armed individuals' by presuming a license expressly permitting possession of a firearm was invalid."
Improve your skills! Bond with the kids! Infuriate control freaks!
The word "pistol," it turns out, is borrowed indirectly from Czech.
“New York enacted its firearm licensing requirements to criminalize gun ownership by racial and ethnic minorities.”
What (if anything) will the courts do once the plaintiffs turn 21?
Ripped for use of excessive force, the Springfield, Massachusetts, Narcotics Bureau is becoming a Firearms Investigation Unit.
The panel strikes down the federal statute that bans professional gun dealers from selling handguns to 18-to-20-year-olds.
Plus: Trump's absurd lawsuits against social media, states take aim at Google app store, and more...
"The Second Amendment does not exist to protect only the rights of the happy few who distinguish themselves from the body of 'the people' through some 'proper cause.'"
Rhode Island, maybe New York, Wilmington (Delaware), and a few small towns are the only places in the U.S. that still forbid stun guns.
Salaythis Melvin's family says they want justice.
It's likely that soon, almost all Americans will be legally able to carry guns.
Rules range from absurd to appalling without respect for civil liberties or basic logic.
State legislators across the country are working to weaken the enforcement of federal gun laws by emulating immigration activists.
A new decision from the Georgia Court of Appeals.
A new lawsuit challenges Minnesota's law requiring a person be at least 21 years old to carry a handgun.
The announcement comes days after an exclusive report from Reason attracted national attention to the case.
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