Short articles
Plenty of red flags in Colorado’s 'extreme risk' protection order bill. Complete Colorado. Feb. 19, 2019. With Joseph Greenlee.
The Racist Influence on Gun Control Laws. When Ida B. Wells urged blacks to use repeating rifles for defense against lynch mobs, gun control advocates invented a new type of gun licensing. Epoch Times. Feb. 5, 2019.
Mayhew, Liberty, and the Resistance to Tyranny. Epoch Times. Jan. 30, 2019.
Supreme Court's New Second Amendment Case: Opportunity to address nullification of the right to arms. Reason, Volokh Conspiracy. Jan. 22, 2019.
Textual analysis of HR8, bill to "To require a background check for every firearm sale." Bill about gun "sale" turns ordinary gun loans into felonies, bans handguns for young adults, and authorizes unlimited fees. Reason, Volokh Conspiracy. Jan. 9, 2019.
The Ever-Shifting Definition of "Assault Weapons." The phrase has been used to promote bans on almost every type of gun. Reason, Volokh Conspiracy. Jan. 2, 2019.
Do Some Courts Underenforce the Second Amendment? Data show problems in several Circuits. Reason, Volokh Conspiracy. Dec. 27, 2018.
Supreme Court Should Clarify Second Amendment Test. Challenge to ban on interstate handgun sales would be a good vehicle. Reason, Volokh Conspiracy. Dec. 20, 2018.
The Story of Hanukkah. How a small militia started an uprising that won national independence and saved Judaism. Epoch Times. Dec. 2, 2018.
Childress Says, "The Second Amendment Saved Our Lives." NASCAR great describes the armed invasion of his home last year. America's 1st Freedom. Dec. 2018.
In the Media
Missouri foster parents challenge state gun law. Washington Times. Jan. 22, 2019. by Alex Swoyer.
Trump's Shifting Shutdown Tests Law Dating to Ulysses Grant. Bloomberg News. Jan. 11, 2019. by Jennifer A Dlouhy
Accidental Shooting Deaths Halved in Past 2 Decades, Even With Increased Gun Sales. Epoch Times. Dec. 30, 2018. by Petr Svab.
Venezuelans regret gun ban, 'a declaration of war against an unarmed population'. Fox News. Dec. 14, 2018. by Hollie McKay.
Emergency Confiscation is Easy Target in New Gun Control Congress. The American Conservative. Dec. 11, 2018. by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos.
U.S. Supreme Court Urged to Consider NYC Second Amendment Lawsuit. Heartland Institute. Dec. 3, 2018. by Sarah Quinlan.
Colorado Voters Reject Tax Hikes, Regulatory Reform. Heartland Institute. Nov. 27, 2018. by Joe Barnett.
Long-standing and Presumptively Lawful? Heller’s Dicta vs. History and Dicta. Heritage Foundation, Legal Memorandum no. 238. Nov. 5. 2018. by Amy Swearer. Argues that lifelong gun bans for non-violent felons are unconstitutional.
Mental illness on the rise in America. Communities Digital News. Oct. 16, 2018. by Laurie Edwards-Tate.
Michael Bloomberg is No Defender of the Constitution. Reason. Oct. 11, 2018. by Scott Shackford.
How far will press go to protect Michael Moore? Hollywood in Toto. Sept. 24, 2018.
For nations with strict gun laws, this little shooting range in Hawaii is a haven for tourists. Los Angeles Times. Sept. 4, 2018. by David Montero.
Television, Radio, Podcasts
Dan Caplis Show. KHOW 630 AM radio. Problems with new Colorado "red flag" bill. Feb. 20, 2019.
Interview with Rob Natelson, author of "The Law of Article V." Feb. 19, 2019.
Krista Kafer Show. KHOW 630 am radio. Dangerous and extreme "red flag" bill in Colorado. Feb. 19, 2019.
Colorado Inside Out. Feb. 15, 2019. Full episode. Trump emergency wall funding. Denver teachers strike settled. Gun confiscation bill. Conversion therapy ban has big loophole for hormonal disruptors for children.
Colorado Inside Out. Feb. 1, 2019. Full episode. RTD's new shuttle. Sex indoctrination bill. Johnston enters 2020 Senate race. Denver teacher's union won't negotiate.
What The So-Called Gun Show Loophole Really Looks Like. KCUR. "Guns in America" project. Jan. 29, 2019. by Chris Haxel.
Interview with David Harsanyi, author of "First Freedom: A Ride Through America's Enduring History with the Gun." Independence Institute. Dec. 12, 2018.
NRA News. Cam & Company. Nov. 27, 2018. "Second Amendment Saved Our Lives." Kopel discusses his new article about the armed invasion of the home of NASCAR great Richard Childress.
Self-defense in Jewish Tradition. Univ. of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Oct. 24, 2018. 56 minutes. First minute is cut.
The Age of the 3D-Printed Gun. NPR On Point. July 25, 2018. With Anthony Brooks (host), Andy Greenberg (Wired magazine), Avery Gardiner (Brady Center).
Colorado Inside Out. July 6, 2018. Full episode. Time Machine special, from 1968. A year in review program from December 1968 Rocky Mountain News columnist Molly Mayfield (Patty Calhoun), community organizer Gerald Kopel (David Kopel), police reporter Al Nakula (Kevin Flynn), and feminist leader Florence Kennedy (Dani Newsum). The panel discusses riots, assassinations, the Vietnam War, and Richard Nixon's election victory. With Kopel cameo at President-elect Nixon. Postgame: Further thoughts on Nixon's win.
Heller in the Lower Courts. 40 Campbell Law Review 399 (2018). Panel discussion with Sarah Ludington, Brannon Denning, Dennis Henigan, Hannah Shearer, and David Kopel. Video.
Heller and "Assault Weapons.” 40 Campbell Law Review 461 (2018). Panel discussion with E. Gregory Wallace, Allen Rostron: Panelist, Allen Rostron, Jonathan Lowy, and David Kopel. Video.
Colorado Inside Out: 25 Years. Oct. 27, 2017. Hour-long documentary about Colorado's longest-running public affairs television program.
Latest Monographs & Journal articles
Federal Circuit Second Amendment Developments 2018. 7 Lincoln Memorial University Law Review (forthcoming 2019). With Joseph G.S. Greenlee.
Defining "Assault Weapons." The Regulatory Review (Univ. of Pennsylvania). Nov. 14, 2018.
Data Indicate Second Amendment Underenforcement. 68 Duke Law Journal Online 79 (2018). Problems in the Second, Fourth, and Ninth Circuits.
The Colorado Constitution's No Aid to Sectarian Institutions Clause and Its Impact on Civil Rights. Colorado Special Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Sept. 2018.
Federal Circuit Second Amendment Developments 2017-2018. Texas State Bar Association. Firearms Law Seminar. 2018. With Joseph Greenlee.
History and Tradition in Modern Circuit Cases on the Second Amendment Rights of Young People. 43 Southern Illinois University Law Journal 119 (2018). With Joseph G.S. Greenlee.
The Second Amendment Rights of Young Adults. 43 Southern Illinois University Law Journal (forthcoming 2019). With Joseph Greenlee.
The Right to Arms in Nineteenth Century Colorado. 95 Denver University Law Review 329 (2018).
In the Courts and Congress
Pena v. Horan. Cert. petition. No. 18-843. Feb. 1, 2019. Amicus brief for Second Amendment law professors, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Mountain States Legal Foundation, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, Independence Institute, and Millennial Policy Center. California's "microstamping" mandate creates a de facto ban on all new models of semiautomatic pistols. The Ninth Circuit opinion uphold the ban was based on speculation and refusal to consider the plaintiffs' evidence.
Mance v. Whitaker. Cert. petition. No. 18-663. Dec. 20, 2022. Amicus brief for Second Amendment law professors, Independence Institute, and Millennial Policy Center. Challenge to federal ban on interstate handgun sales between consenting states. Argues that Court should take the case to explicate the proper test for Second Amendment challenges, due to conflicts in the lower courts, and nullification of the Second Amendment in some courts.
Chiafalo v. Washington. No. 953-47-3. Dec. 5, 2018. Washington Supreme Court. Amicus brief of Independence Institute. Based on original public meaning of Article II and the Twelfth Amendment, presidential electors are free to vote their conscience, and cannot be constrained by state law.
Maryland Shall Issue v. Hogan. No. 16-cv-3311-ELH (D. Md. Oct. 5, 2018). Amicus brief of International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors, 11 law professors, Second Amendment Foundation, Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, Millennial Policy Center, and Independence Institute. Maryland's burdensome handgun licensing system in contrary to original understanding, history, and tradition, and cannot pass heightened scrutiny.
Timbs v. Indiana. No. 17-1091. U.S. Sup. Ct. Sept. 11, 2018. Merits amicus brief. The Independence Institute joins a broad civil liberties coalition in an amicus brief led by the Drug Policy Alliance. The issue is whether the Eighth Amendment's Excessive Fines Clause should be incorporated against the States. The brief details modern abuses of forfeiture laws, and argues that no government can have a legitimate interest in imposing an "excessive" fine.
Worman v. Healey. Aug. 29, 2018. Amicus brief for 11 law professors specializing in the Second Amendment, the Second Amendment Foundation, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Jews for the Preservation Ownership, Independence Institute, and Millennial Policy Center. Massachusetts ban on common firearms and standard magazines violates Supreme Court precedent. Such arms have been traditional American arms since the 19th century. Cato Institute summary.
Young v. Hawaii. Ninth Circuit. July 23, 2018. State may not limit carry permits only to security guards. Cites Kopel article on natural right of self-defense.
Colorado Department of Labor v. Dami Hospitality. Colorado Supreme Court. July 2, 2018. Amicus brief argues that the Eighth Amendment's rule "nor excessive fines imposed" does not have a loophole allowing excessive fines to be imposed on corporations.
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Dec. 6, 2017. Written testimony on: Bill to ban bump stocks and some gunsmithing. S 1916; Fix NICS Act, S. 2135; Bill to allow indefinite delays in background checks, S. 1923; interstate carry reciprocity, S. 446. Video of testimony (Kopel starts at 2:31:28). Written responses to Questions for the Record for Sen. Grassley. |
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