second amendment

414 – Disarming The Militia Act

The gun grabbers in Congress are at it again. Attempts to disarm the American people have only been moderately successful over the past few years. So a bill was recently introduced in the House of Representatives entitled “Preventing Private Paramilitary Activity Act of 2024”. This bill wants to make it a crime for private citizens to work together to defend their rights. If this bill were to become law some day, even training together could not only get you fined, but placed in jail, possibly for life.

396 – Hard Cases Make Bad Precedent

There is an adage in the legal profession, “Hard cases make bad law.” Well, since cases in this country to not truly make law only precedent, you might be tempted to dismiss this saying. However, since our courts are so devoted to their precedent, we should be very careful when hard cases come to the Supreme Court. For example, one case heard by the court has a very unsavory respondent. The question is, will Mr. Zackey Rahimi’s shady past be used to infringe on the right of the rest of Americans?

326 – NYSRPA v. Bruen

Can a state arbitrarily decide whether or not you get to exercise a right protected by the Constitution of the United States? That is the question in the case New York State Rifle and Pistol Association (NYSRPA) v. Bruen, Superintendent of the New York State Police. New York State is a “may issue” state, meaning that you did not get your carry license even if you met all of the legal requirements, you had to show you had a “good cause” to carry a firearm in public. But self-defense was not considered “good cause” by the New York courts. You had to show you had a special need for self-defense, greater than the general public. Does that sound like infringement on your right to keep and bear arms to you?

319 – At What Age Do You Have Rights?

As children, we receive protection of our rights through our parents. But have you ever considered at what age you receive protections for your rights directly? Is it the same for all rights, or are there different ages when you receive protections for different rights?
The case Jones v. Bonta asked the question, when do you receive protections for your right to keep and bear arms. The answer out of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals may surprise you.

297 – Controlling a Constitutionally Protected Right

The Declaration of Independence lists some of our inalienable rights. It also says “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men”. If governments are created to secure our rights, does that mean they have the legitimate power to regulate them? Yet in many situations, governments at all levels claim that power. So what happens when We the People allow governments to control our rights? More importantly, what can we do to regain control of our rights.

296 – Spying on American Gun Owners Act

Benjamin Franklin said:

“They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security.”

Yet with the promise of keeping us safe from “gun violence”, “violent extremists”, and “domestic terrorists”, Congress wants you to give up your essential liberty to be free from unreasonable searches. H.R. 5764 is the first step to a writ of assistance against anyone who buys or sells firearms. This has been done before, so why shouldn’t Congress think they can get away with it again?

290 – Illinois Gun Tax Case

I usually cover cases involving the Constitution of the United States. Today however, I am looking at a case out of the State of Illinois involving that state’s constitution and the question of county gun and ammo taxes. While the appellant’s complaint argues that these taxes violate the both Article I, Section 22 of the Illinois Constituiton and Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Illinois Supreme Court instead focused on the taxing power of the county. While Cook County gun owners may be happy with the outcome, as a constitutional scholar I find the majority opinion woefully lacking.

271 – California Dreaming of the 2nd Amendment

Many in California dream of exercising their right of self-defense protected by the Second Amendment to the Constituiton of the United States. That’s because today they are living in a nightmare of laws and regulation designed to prevent otherwise law abiding citizens from exercising the right to keep and bear arms. The recent case Miller v. Bonta, may sound like a blow for freedom in the golden state. The opinion itself however, is more of a “good news/bad news” situation.