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.
The document remains remarkably resilient, even as Republicans and Democrats keep launching assaults on liberty.
Much of what the federal government does on a daily basis flouts constitutional protections and offends human decency.
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.
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.
The right to keep and bear arms occupies a curious place in American legal history.
Steven Duarte is one of several petitioners who are asking the justices to address the constitutionality of that absurdly broad gun ban.
Elsid Aliaj says the seizure violated state law and the Second Amendment.
Once we let our rights become privileges, government officials can revoke them on a whim.
His administration is urging the Supreme Court to uphold a prosecution for violating a federal law that bars illegal drug users from owning firearms.
The law applies to millions of Americans who pose no plausible threat to public safety, including cannabis consumers in states that have legalized marijuana.
The cases give the justices a chance to address a constitutionally dubious policy that disarms peaceful Americans.
That strategy, which rejects the possibility of sincere disagreement, is poisonous to rational debate.
The law is one of several attempts to override the right to bear arms by making it impractical to exercise.
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.
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.
All liberty involves tradeoffs. So does repressing liberty.
A unanimous three-judge panel concluded that "no historical tradition supports" the 1987 law.
Such a gun ban is not authorized by statute or allowed by the Second Amendment.
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."
The Justice Department reportedly is considering a regulation aimed at disarming "mentally ill individuals suffering from gender dysphoria."
The Justice Department has proposed a pathway to restore gun rights for millions of Americans.
The federal law relies on a risible reading of the Commerce Clause to restrict a constitutional right.
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."
The appeals court concluded that the government had failed to show that policy is consistent with "this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."
There’s no historical precedent for trying to ration constitutionally protected rights.
Plus: The National Guard deployed to D.C., the Trump-Putin meeting on Ukraine, Texas Democrats flee the state, and a listener question on free speech in the U.K.
DIY firearms aren’t just an end-run around the law; they represent a libertarian political movement.
The same newspaper notes that the killer "obtained a firearm legally," which means he was never "committed" to a mental health institution.
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.
Kathy Hochul's focus on "assault weapons" is puzzling, since the perpetrator easily could have killed the same number of people with a gun that did not fall into that politically defined category.
Golden State ammunition restrictions have been voided for violating the Second Amendment.
The contrast between the two cases illustrates the haphazard impact of an arbitrary, constitutionally dubious gun law.
In response to a Second Amendment lawsuit, the government says the restriction "serves legitimate objectives" and "only modestly burdens" the right to arms.
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.
Democratic critics of the new program overlook the injustice of permanently disarming Americans who pose no threat to public safety.
The appeals court concluded that the restriction impinges on the right to arms and is not consistent with the historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Melynda Vincent is asking the justices to decide whether it's constitutional to disarm people based on nothing more than a nonviolent criminal conviction.
My wife and I built our defensive skills with six days of sweat, dust, and the right mindset.
It’s a small step in the right direction for self-defense rights.
The state may have a hard time showing that its broad restrictions are consistent with the "historical tradition of firearm regulation."
Is the small-government Democrat beefing up state power?
The movie star’s special treatment highlights the injustice of an illogical federal law.
More litigation is required to find out which kits and unfinished parts are subject to regulation.
A new Justice Department rule could help "prohibited persons" who pose no threat to public safety.
Millions of people are barred from owning firearms even though they have no history of violence, and they have essentially no recourse under current law.
The Supreme Court will decide whether this threat to the Second Amendment is legally viable.
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