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The Myth of the “Massachusetts Model”
Read more: The Myth of the “Massachusetts Model”The title of Saul Cornell’s recent blog post—The Myth of Non-enforcement of Gun Laws in Nineteenth Century America—leaves the impression that I will argue that nineteenth-century gun restrictions went unenforced. I will make no such argument. In some places, laws regulating the carrying of weapons were enforced strictly. In others, they were ignored. Some authorities…
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Guns at the Airport: Madison Cawthorn and the Increase of Firearms Detected by TSA
Read more: Guns at the Airport: Madison Cawthorn and the Increase of Firearms Detected by TSALast week, airport security screeners detected that Rep. Madison Cawthorn was carrying a loaded 9mm handgun. Rep. Cawthorn was not the first Member of Congress caught with a gun at the airport. (For another recent example involving Rep. Ross Spano (R-Fla.) see here.) Nor was this the first time that Rep. Cawthorn brought a gun…
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Sovereign Immunity and Military Federalism
Read more: Sovereign Immunity and Military FederalismAre the federal war powers so absolute and exclusive that they include the power to subject state governments to nonconsensual suits for monetary damages? That was the issue last Tuesday when the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety. Le Roy Torres was a Texas State Trooper who also…
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The Right to Bear Arms (Openly?) in the Supreme Court: Did the Bruen Petitioners Err by Seeking Only a New York “Concealed-Carry” License?
Read more: The Right to Bear Arms (Openly?) in the Supreme Court: Did the Bruen Petitioners Err by Seeking Only a New York “Concealed-Carry” License?Since at least Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court has recognized that a litigant may not be able to secure judicial relief if he seeks the wrong remedy. A question about the proper remedy is brewing in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen. Bruen involves plaintiffs who have unsuccessfully sought unrestricted…
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Welcome to Standing His Ground
Read more: Welcome to Standing His GroundWelcome to my blog. I am an assistant professor at George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School. I research legal issues involving the legitimate use of public and private violence, including the right of self-defense, the use of force in law enforcement, just war theory, and gun control. On occasion, I have had the good…