Two 15-Year Sentences Illustrate the Ugly Interaction of Drug and Gun Laws
The Supreme Court mulls how to apply a mandatory minimum for gun possession by people convicted of drug felonies.
firearms regulation
The 4th Circuit Says Maryland's Handgun Licensing Law Is Unconstitutional
Before buying a handgun, residents had to obtain a "qualification license," which could take up to 30 days.
Prosecutors of 6-Year-Old Shooter's Mother Claim Gun-Owning Pot Users Are 'Inherently Dangerous'
Deja Taylor is going to federal prison because of a constitutionally dubious gun law that millions of cannabis consumers are violating right now.
He Lost His Gun Rights Because of a Misdemeanor DUI Conviction. That Was Unconstitutional, a Judge Says.
The case highlights the broad reach of a federal law that bans firearm possession by people with nonviolent criminal records.
The Supreme Court Should Not Let Bureaucrats Invent Crimes by Rewriting the Law
The Trump administration’s unilateral ban on bump stocks turned owners of those rifle accessories into felons.
Only 'Dangerous Individuals' Lose Their Gun Rights Because of Protective Orders, the Government Says
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar falsely claims a federal gun ban "requires individualized findings of dangerousness."
Due Process Demands Stricter Standards for Restraining Orders That Negate Gun Rights
In an upcoming Supreme Court case, the Cato Institute argues that the "threadbare procedures" required by federal law provide inadequate protection for constitutional rights.
A Montana Case Tests the Constitutionality of the Gun-Free School Zones Act
The law makes it a felony to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, which covers the sidewalk in front of Gabriel Metcalf's house.
Don't Blame the Maine Shootings on 'Woefully Weak' Gun Laws
Criticism of the state’s "yellow flag" statute is doubly misguided.
It's Hard To See How the 9th Circuit Can Manage To Uphold California's 'Assault Weapon' Ban
The appeals court is reviewing an injunction by a judge who concluded that the law is inconsistent with the Supreme Court's Second Amendment precedents.
A Federal Judge Enjoins Several Maryland Restrictions on Carrying Handguns
The decision is another rebuke to states that have imposed broad, location-specific limits on the right to bear arms.
On Guns, Drugs, and National Security, Dianne Feinstein Was Consistently Authoritarian
The late California senator always seemed to err on the side of more government power and less individual freedom.
Arbitrary Restrictions Explain Why Trump Was Not Allowed To Buy That Glock
Before correcting the record, the former president's spokesman inadvertently implicated him in a federal crime.
California's 10-Round Magazine Limit Is Unconstitutional, a Federal Judge Rules (Again)
"There is no American tradition of limiting ammunition capacity," U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez says, calling the state's cap "arbitrary," "capricious," and "extreme."
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's Unconstitutional Gun Edict Was a Huge, Bipartisan Flop
The governor's attempt to rule by decree provoked widespread condemnation instead of the applause she was expecting.
Hunter Biden's Multiplying Gun Charges Threaten the Right to Arms and the Right to Trial
The collapse of his plea deal set up a clash with his father, who doggedly defends the firearm regulations his son violated.
A Blatantly Unconstitutional Gun Edict Highlights the Hazards of Emergency Powers
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham thinks violent crime gives her a license to rule by decree.
New Mexico's Governor Suspends the Right To Bear Arms, Saying the Second Amendment Is Not 'Absolute'
Local police officials are leery of enforcing Michelle Lujan Grisham's ban on public carry, which gun rights groups have challenged in federal court.
Free "2023 Supplement" for "Firearms Law and the Second Amendment"
Covering the many developments in 2022-23.
Without a Diversion Agreement, Hunter Biden Could Go to Prison Under an Arbitrary Gun Law His Dad Supports
Special Counsel David Weiss will face a Second Amendment challenge if he prosecutes the president's son for illegally buying a firearm.
The Arbitrary Ban on Gun Possession by Drug Users Invites Wildly Uneven Enforcement
Violators are rarely caught, while the unlucky few who face prosecution can go to prison for years.
5th Circuit Says Prosecuting a Cannabis Consumer for Possessing Guns Violated the Second Amendment
The decision casts further doubt on the constitutionality of a federal law that makes it a felony for illegal drug users to own firearms.
The Legally Authorized Charges Against Donald Trump and Hunter Biden Don't Tell Us What Justice Requires
The nature of their conduct is a better indicator of the punishment they deserve.
Should Donald Trump and Hunter Biden Both Be Prosecuted?
Plus: A listener question concerning drug decriminalization and social well-being
How Hunter Biden's Plea Deal Fell Apart
A federal judge objected to two aspects of the agreement that seemed designed to shield Biden from the possibility that his father will lose reelection next year.
Hunter Biden Shouldn't Go to Prison for Violating an Arbitrary Gun Law
A judge's questions about his plea deal should not obscure the point that the law he broke is unjust and arguably unconstitutional.
Big Loss for Biden's Crusade Against 'Ghost Guns'
A federal judge says the ATF can’t arbitrarily classify inert objects as gun parts.
He's Facing Life in Prison for Owning Firearms Without a License
The government appears to agree that Charles Foehner shot a man in self-defense. He may spend decades behind bars anyway.
Gavin Newsom Wants To 'Permanently Enshrine' Gun Control in the U.S. Constitution
California’s governor insists his “28th Amendment” would leave the right to arms “intact.”
Disarming a Man Based on a Nonviolent Misdemeanor Was Unconstitutional, the 3rd Circuit Rules
The decision highlights the injustice of a federal law that bans gun possession by broad categories of "prohibited persons."
The Biden Administration Still Insists That Cannabis Consumers Have No Right to Arms
As pot prohibition collapses across the country, that policy is increasingly untenable.
New Jersey's Restrictions on Public Gun Possession Are 'Plainly Unconstitutional,' a Federal Judge Says
The state defied a Supreme Court ruling by banning guns from myriad "sensitive places."
Age Restrictions on Handgun Sales Are Unconstitutional, a Federal Judge Rules
U.S. District Judge Robert Payne concluded that 18-to-20-year-olds have the same Second Amendment rights as older adults.
The Allen Massacre Underlines the False Promise of 'Universal Background Checks'
Mass shooters typically do not have disqualifying records, and restrictions on private gun sales are widely flouted.
'Assault Weapon' Bans Look More Legally Vulnerable Than Ever
A preliminary injunction in Illinois may signal the demise of a long-running public policy fraud.
Washington's 'Assault Weapons' Ban Will Be as Impotent as Most Gun Laws
Once again, firearm-averse legislators chase after a restriction-averse public.
Washington Is Now the 10th State With a Logically and Constitutionally Dubious 'Assault Weapon' Ban
A federal lawsuit notes that the new law draws arbitrary distinctions and targets guns in common use for legal purposes.
Another Federal Judge Rejects the DOJ's Argument That Cannabis Consumers Have No Second Amendment Rights
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone was unimpressed by the Biden administration's argument that marijuana users are too "dangerous" to own guns.
Restraining Orders Do Not Prove That People Are 'Dangerous'
The Biden administration is defending a federal law that disarms Americans based on "boilerplate language" in orders that judges routinely grant.
The Ruling Upholding the Gun Rights of People Subject to Restraining Orders Is Not As Crazy As You Might Think
The 5th Circuit noted that such orders can be issued without any credible evidence of a threat to others.
The DOJ Says Forbidding Pot Users To Own Guns Is Like Telling People Not To Carry Guns When They're Drunk
Defending a categorical ban on gun possession by cannabis consumers, the Biden administration cites inapt "historical analogues."
Biden's Plan To Unilaterally Expand Background Checks for Gun Buyers Is Legally and Logically Dubious
The president wants to redefine federally licensed gun dealers in service of an ineffective anti-crime strategy.
The DOJ Says Marijuana Use, Which Biden Thinks Should Not Be a Crime, Nullifies the Second Amendment
Even as the president bemoans the injustice of pot prohibition, his administration insists that cannabis consumers have no right to arms.
The Drug Exception to the Second Amendment
Conservatives have been slow to recognize the threat that drug prohibition poses to gun rights and other civil liberties.
Biden's Attack on 'Ghost Guns' Fits a Pattern of Lawless Firearm Regulation
The president and his predecessor both tried to impose gun control by executive fiat.
New York's Message to Gun Owners: You Can Have a Carry Permit. Good Luck Using It.
A New York Times story about the state's location-specific gun bans glosses over the vast territory they cover.
A Texas-Backed Lawsuit Argues That the ATF's Pistol Brace Rule Is Arbitrary and Unconstitutional
Although the law did not change, regulators suddenly decided to criminalize unregistered possession of braced pistols.
A Federal Judge Says the Ban on Gun Possession by Cannabis Consumers Is Unconstitutional
The government argued that marijuana users have no Second Amendment rights because they are dangerous, unvirtuous, and untrustworthy.
