Transgender Athletes, Guns, and the Federal Reserve: 3 SCOTUS Cases To Watch in January
The Supreme Court’s January docket is packed with big cases.
Guns
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.
Second Amendment Protects Right to Open Carry, Ninth Circuit Panel Holds (2-1)
If the decision doesn't go en banc, it may go to the Supreme Court, because the Second Circuit held the opposite (and there's thus a circuit split).
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N.Y. State Police Attempt to Get "Red Flag" Gun Ban Order Against 11-Year-Old Girl Was "Legally Frivolous," "Needlessly Risk[ed] Further Injury"
The basis for the attempt was that the girl had texted a classmate that she was thinking of hanging herself.
Bondi Beach Shows Why Self-Defense Is a Vital Right
Individuals and communities must take responsibility for their own safety.
ISIS Gunmen
Plus: Universal child care polls well, DEI and generational dynamics, and more...
Shootings at Bondi and Brown
Plus: Chile elects a right-winger, Jimmy Lai gets convicted, midair collision narrowly averted, and more...
Felon's Living with Family Members Who He Knows Own Guns Doesn't Itself Show "Possession" Under State Ban on Felons Possessing Guns
So concludes the Louisiana Supreme Court, though my sense is that other courts may well have decided this differently.
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.
Some Democrats Urge the Military To 'Refuse Illegal Orders.' What if the IRS, ATF, and EPA Did the Same?
Much of what the federal government does on a daily basis flouts constitutional protections and offends human decency.
Why Does SCOTUS Hear So Few Second Amendment Cases?
The right to keep and bear arms occupies a curious place in American legal history.
Chicago Cops Ignore the Law, Arrest Legal Gun Owners
Once we let our rights become privileges, government officials can revoke them on a whim.
California's Latest Dumb Gun Law is a Ban on Glocks
According to California lawmakers, Kamala Harris’s pistol is a potential machinegun.
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.
Refereeing the Debate over the 2021 National Firearms Survey
Critics of Prof. William English's survey sometimes miss the mark, but also raise valid questions.
No, It Wasn't Ironic That Second Amendment Advocate Charlie Kirk Was Shot
All liberty involves tradeoffs. So does repressing liberty.
What the Messages on the Bullets of Charlie Kirk's Assassin Mean
The phrases are a mix of anti-fascist sentiments and irony-poisoned internet memes.
Charlie Kirk and America's History With Political Violence
Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch discuss the murder of Charlie Kirk and how political violence is reshaping the national climate.
Florida's Ban on Openly Carrying Guns Is Unconstitutional, State Appeals Court Rules
A unanimous three-judge panel concluded that "no historical tradition supports" the 1987 law.
Woman Repeatedly Badmouthed Ex-Lover, Ordered Not to Say Anything Online About Him, Lost Gun Rights
She had admitted that some (though not all) of the speech was false, but the injunction (entered in a restraining order case, not following a full defamation trial) extends to all speech, not just falsehoods: "Even speech otherwise protected by the First Amendment may be enjoined if it disturbs the petitioning party's peace."
Major Gun-Rights Groups Oppose the Trump Administration's Idea To Ban Trans People From Owning Guns
The NRA says it won't support "any policy proposals that implement sweeping gun bans that arbitrarily strip law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights without due process."
Walz's Gun Plan Wouldn't Stop Shootings, but It Might Shred Civil Liberties
Minnesota's proposed firearm restrictions raise serious constitutional questions—and offer little in return.
She Wrote a Bad Check 17 Years Ago and Still Can't Own Guns. This Trump Order Could Help People Like Her.
The Justice Department has proposed a pathway to restore gun rights for millions of Americans.
The Gun-Free School Zones Act Is Doubly Dubious
The federal law relies on a risible reading of the Commerce Clause to restrict a constitutional right.
Maybe Prayer Isn't Bullshit
Plus: Beware of distorted data, inside the mind of Curtis Sliwa, a thong-related clarification, and more...
Court Kills California's One-Gun-a-Month Law
There’s no historical precedent for trying to ration constitutionally protected rights.
Making the World Freer with Homemade Guns
DIY firearms aren’t just an end-run around the law; they represent a libertarian political movement.
Gun Rights Groups Sue To Overturn Federal Weapons Registration
The case argues that, since the One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated taxes on the transfer of certain weapons, the constitutional basis for registering those weapons no longer exists.
The 'Rigged' Jobs Data
Plus: AI reanimations of those who've died, Elizabeth Warren x Zohran Mamdani, and more...
Eric Adams' Gun Seizures Haven't Reduced the Number of Guns in New York City
Despite record seizures and restrictive laws, New York City has struggled to stem the tide of untraceable firearms.
Californians Can Now Buy Ammunition Online Just Like Free Americans
Golden State ammunition restrictions have been voided for violating the Second Amendment.
Hunter Biden Walks Free While This Iowa Man Serves 4 Years for the Same 'Crime'
The contrast between the two cases illustrates the haphazard impact of an arbitrary, constitutionally dubious gun law.
The Trump Administration Defends the Federal Ban on Interstate Handgun Sales
In response to a Second Amendment lawsuit, the government says the restriction "serves legitimate objectives" and "only modestly burdens" the right to arms.
Gun Rights Groups Welcome the Demise of Illogical and Constitutionally Dubious Federal Firearm Taxes
The taxes on sound suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns, originally enacted in 1934, were meant to be prohibitive, imposing bans in the guise of raising revenue.
