Second Amendment Commons^™

Are Handguns A Matter Of Privacy?, Bret N. Bogenschneider

St. Mary's Law Journal

The thesis developed in this Article is that the Heller and Bruen cases involved primarily right-to-privacy concerns. By its terms, the Second Amendment involves the collective right to bear Arms in connection to regulated militia service and does not mention handguns. Handguns were not “ordinary military weapons” employed by a militia at the time of the American revolution under the originalist view. The Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments are more appropriate sources for an individual privacy right related to the possession of handguns for private purposes, such as for self-defense or suicide. However, a prohibition of handguns under this approach would …

The Collective Right Endures: Pre-Heller Precedent And Our Understanding Of The Modern Second Amendment, William Reach

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Prior to 2008, legal scholars who examined the Second Amendment fell roughly into two camps: those who believed “the right of the people to . . . bear arms” only covered state militias, and those who believed it extended to individual citizens.

After District of Columbia v. Heller conclusively established that the “Second Amendment conferred an individual right to keep and bear arms," discussion of the collective right to bear arms largely receded from public discussion and most litigation surrounding the Second Amendment shifted to define the outer edges of the individual right. But the pre-Heller showdown between these …

Constitutional Conflict And Sensitive Places, Darrell A. H. Miller

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Political And Non-Political Speech And Guns, Gregory P. Magarian

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Doctrinal Dynamism, Borrowing, And The Relationship Between Rules And Rights, Joseph Blocher, Luke Morgan

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The study of “Rights Dynamism,” exemplified in Timothy Zick’s new book on the First Amendment’s relationship with the rest of the Bill of Rights, can enrich our understanding of constitutional rights. It also opens a door to another potentially fruitful arena: what we call “Doctrinal Dynamism.” Constitutional rights often interact and generate new meanings and applications by way of importing and exporting one another’s doctrinal rules, even when the rights themselves do not intersect directly in the context of a single case. Focusing on these doctrinal exchanges can illuminate the strengths and weaknesses of various rules, the specific interests underlying …

The Constitutional Case For "Red Flag" Laws, Timothy Zick

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

The “True Man” And His Gun: On The Masculine Mystique Of Second Amendment Jurisprudence, C. D. Christensen

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

The Supreme Court’s recent Second Amendment jurisprudence raises serious normative questions for the use of self-defense with a firearm. This jurisprudence also implicates our prevailing social norms with respect to socially constructed and structurally pervasive gender roles. I argue that a peculiarly American conception of masculinity underpins the judicial construction of the Second Amendment’s core purpose as guaranteeing the right to armed defense of one’s self and one’s home. The Court’s recent Second Amendment rulings create an individual protection for gun ownership and incorporate the same against the States. But the Court’s reasoning entangles this protection with an implicit valuation …

The Second Amendment In The Twenty-First Century: What Hath Heller Wrought?, Patrick J. Charles

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

The Quiet Army: Felon Firearm Rights Restoration In The Fourth Circuit, Robert Luther Iii

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Most states afford felons the opportunity to have their political disabilities removed or “rights restored” after they are released from incarceration. In every state within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, save Virginia, a felon’s rights are partially restored automatically upon the completion of his sentence, parole, and probation. Absent a pardon, Virginia requires the felon to petition the Governor in writing through the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth in order to obtain a partial restoration of rights. One such right that may or may not be restored upon a state-convicted felon’s …

Our Non-Originalist Right To Bear Arms, Robert Leider

Indiana Law Journal

District of Columbia v. Heller was a landmark, if controversial, opinion. Discussion has centered on the merits of its self-described originalist approach. Supporters praise its efforts to return to a more originalist and textualist approach to constitutional questions, whereas critics challenge the accuracy of Heller’s historical claims and criticize its departure from precedent.

This Article challenges much of the conventional wisdom about Heller, its use of originalism, and its relationship to nineteenth- and twentieth-century case law. This Article argues that, despite much of its rhetoric, Heller actually exemplified popular constitutionalism—not originalism—in the way it approached the most important practical question …

Federalism As A Preventive Measure: Avoiding State Enforcement Of Federal Anti-Gun Legislation In 2013, Brielle Hunt

Law Student Publications

This comment will delve into the question of whether or not the Constitution allows states to refuse to comply with federal law. This analysis requires the application of a constitutional principle that reaches far beyond the scope of the Right to Bear Arms; it calls into play the vertical separation of powers and the rights belonging to state sovereigns described in the Tenth Amendment. The comment will proceed as follows. Part II will address the constitutionality of House Bill 2340, compared against other kinds of legislation and in light of case law. It will be argued that the Federal Government …

Docs Versus Glocks: N.R.A. Takes Aim At Florida Physicians’ Freedom Of Speech: Leaving Patients’ Health, Safety, And Welfare At Risk, Michelle Foody

Cardozo Law Review de•novo

Part I of this Note provides background on the Act at issue, its legislative history, the current status of the Supreme Court’s free speech jurisprudence, and it also introduces the constitutional interests at stake. Part II considers the constitutionality of the Act under the existing First Amendment standard and addresses the State’s assertions under the Second Amendment. Part III proposes that the Court’s standard ought to be recalibrated, taking into account the would-be listeners’ cognizable interest in the information. Part III goes on to legitimate the proposal by reconciling this new examination standard with existing free speech jurisprudence and justifications, …

Guns And Ammo: For Convicted Americans Viewing Pictures Of Others Enjoying Their Constitutional Right To Bear Arms In A Magazine Is The Closest They Will Ever Get To Seeing The Second Amendment At Work - People V. Hughes, Ronald P. Perry

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Where Do We Go From Here? Handgun Regulation In A Post-Heller World, Lindsey Craven

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Rescuing The Fourteenth Amendment Privileges Or Immunities Clause: How "Attrition Or Parliamentary Processes" Begat Accidental Ambiguity; How Ambiguity Begat Slaughter-House, Michael Anthony Lawrence

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Why Protect Private Arms Possession? Nine Theories Of The Second Amendment, Michael S. Green

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An International Human Right To Keep And Bear Arms, Christopher J. Schmidt

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

St. George Tucker And The Second Amendment: Original Understandings And Modern Misunderstandings, Saul Cornell

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Treating The Pen And The Sword As Constitutional Equals: How And Why The Supreme Court Should Apply Its First Amendment Expertise To The Great Second Amendment Debate, David G. Browne

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tench Coxe And The Right To Keep And Bear Arms, 1787-1823, Stephen P. Halbrook, David B. Kopel

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Tench Coxe, a member of the second rank of this nation's Founders and a leading proponent of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, wrote prolifically about the right to keep and bear arms. In this Article, the authors trace Coxe 's story, from his early writings in support of the Constitution, through his years of public service, to his political writings in opposition to the presidential campaigns of John Adams and John Quincy Adams. The authors note that Coxe described the Second Amendment as guaranteeing an individual right, and believed that an individual right to bear arms was necessary …

Guns, Words, And Constitutional Interpretation, L. A. Powe Jr.

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Second Amendment And The Personal Right To Arms, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

For many years, the Second Amendment was politely ignored, or summarily dismissed, by America's legal academy. In recent years, however, more and more law professors have begun taking the Second Amendment seriously. Professor William Van Alstyne, one of the nation's most respected Constitutional law professors, and the author of a leading Constitutional law casebook; offers his contribution in this essay. Van Alstyne suggests that the Second Amendment means exactly what it says: that individual citizens have a right, not merely a privilege, to own and carry firearms. He also commends the National Rifle Association for its constructive role as a …