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).
Gun Rights
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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...
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.
Bill of Rights Day: How Your Rights Keep Authoritarianism in Check
The document remains remarkably resilient, even as Republicans and Democrats keep launching assaults on liberty.
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.
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.
Is the Federal Prohibition on Felon Firearm Possession Constitutional?
Judge Willett thinks that some federal statutes have been interpreted and applied in ways that conflict with the notion that the federal government only has limited and enumerated powers.
Why Does SCOTUS Hear So Few Second Amendment Cases?
The right to keep and bear arms occupies a curious place in American legal history.
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.
Chicago Cops Ignore the Law, Arrest Legal Gun Owners
Once we let our rights become privileges, government officials can revoke them on a whim.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Trump Administration's Half-Baked Plan To Disarm Transgender People Is Legally Bankrupt
Such a gun ban is not authorized by statute or allowed by the Second Amendment.
MAGA Is Wrong About AI. Trump Is Right.
Plus: a weak jobs report and Trump’s economic record, New College of Florida weighing privatization after its clash with DeSantis, and the DOJ pushes to block transgender Americans from gun ownership
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.
The Proposed Ban on Gun Possession by Transgender People Would Be Neither Legal Nor Constitutional
The Justice Department reportedly is considering a regulation aimed at disarming "mentally ill individuals suffering from gender dysphoria."
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.
The 10th Circuit Agrees That Prosecuting Cannabis Consumers for Gun Possession May Be Unconstitutional
The appeals court rejected most of the arguments in favor of that policy, saying "the government must show non-intoxicated marijuana users pose a risk of future danger."
Zombie Knives Don't Kill People, but Banning Them Kills Liberty
Britain’s crackdown on “zombie-style” knives shows how politicians blame objects instead of criminals—and how bans only hurt the law-abiding.
