Short articles
Supreme Court should address lower court nullification of the Second Amendment. Scotusblog. Nov. 20, 2019. with Randy Barnett. Nov. 20, 2019.
Worman v. Healey. Cato Institute. Oct. 24, 2019. With Joseph G.S. Greenlee and Ilya Shapiro.
Heller’s Precarious Situation. National Review. Sept. 12, 2019.
Amicus brief on lawsuits against gun manufacturers invokes NY Times v. Sullivan. Courts should stop abusive lawsuits against the First and Second Amendments. Reason, Volokh Conspiracy. Sept. 4, 2019.
Frank Brownell Museum of the Southwest A small and superb firearms museum in northern New Mexico. Reason, Volokh Conspiracy. Aug. 31, 2019.
In US History, the Right to Arms Is Associated With Liberty, Legal Equality; Gun Control Isn’t. Epoch Times. Aug. 21, 2019.
Trump Must Not Break His Promises to Gun-Rights Supporters. He is following in the footsteps of George H. W. Bush, who paid the price for his betrayal. National Review Online. Aug. 16, 2019.
Daisy Airgun Museum. Wholesome Americana in northwest Arkansas. Reason, Volokh Conspiracy. July 23, 2019.
J.M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum. The world's largest public collection of firearms can be found in a Tulsa suburb. Reason, Volokh Conspiracy. July 20, 2019.
In the Media
Meet 13 key Colorado Capitol influencers. Colorado Politics. Apr. 28, 2019. Joey Bunch.
Supreme Court Won’t Intervene In Connecticut Gunmaker Case, For Now. Cato Institute. Nov. 14, 2019. Walter Olson
SCOTUS permits Sandy Hook parents to sue gunmaker. Conservative Review. Nov. 12, 2019. Nate Madden.
How Can a President Tackle Gun Violence Via Executive Action? Some 2020 Democrats vow to enact gun reforms by bypassing congressional gridlock. But there are limits on how much a White House can do solo. The Trace. Oct. 2, 2019. Alex Yablon.
What’s At Stake In The Guns Case At The Supreme Court? Sept. 26, 2019. KCUR radio. National Public Radio. Matthew Richmond.
Fact check: Could a President Beto O'Rourke actually confiscate assault weapons? CNN.com. Sept. 14, 2019. Holmes Lybrand.
This Awful House Bill Would Promote Gun Confiscation Without Due Process. Reason. Sept. 12, 2019. Jacob Sullum.
Saved by the Militia. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Sept. 11, 2019. Randy Barnett.
Gun advocate Dana Loesch targets ‘Red Flag’ laws as unconstitutional. BPR Business and Politics. Sept. 11, 2019. Zachary Leeman.
Can a Sheriff Force You to Help Law Enforcement? Not in California. The Daily Appeal. Sept. 10, 2019. Sarah Lustbader.
Colorado Connection to Lindsey Graham's Red Flag Bill. Westword. Michael Roberts. Sept. 9, 2019.
California Allows Public to Refuse to Help Law Enforcement. New York Times. Sept. 6, 2019. Jacey Fortin.
Do ‘Red Flag’ Laws Protect Gun Owner Rights? Crime and Justice News (John Jay College). Sept. 4, 2019.
What Makes A Gun Sale Private? KERA (National Public Radio). Sept. 4, 2019. Chris Haxel.
Television, Radio, Podcasts
Gun Fight: Does the 2nd Amendment stand test of time? KRDO-TV, Colorado Springs. Nov. 19, 2019. Krystal Story.
Gun Fight: What defines an "assault weapon"? KRDO-TV, Colorado Springs. Nov. 19, 2019. Josh Helmuth.
Colorado Insisde Out. Oct. 18, 2019. Full episode. Fish mogul to run against Rep. Scott Tipton. Aurora clerk messes up ballots. Hypothetical study about health risks from oil and gas misused by anti-science prohibitionists. Denver School Board races pit reformers vs. union. Democratic U.S. Senate candidates complain about gag rule in party fora.
Colorado Insisde Out. Oct. 11, 2019. Full episode. Crisanta Duran and Alice Madden drop out of congressional races. Public option to destroy private health insurance. Local Republican response to the impeachment inquiry. Proposition DD for sports gambling. Colorado Rising files weak lawsuit against Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Colorado Insisde Out. Oct. 4, 2019. Full episode. No Medal of Honor Museum for Denver. Impeachment of present and previous crooks. "Yes on Prop CC" campaign to end tax refunds debuts. Denver raises age on tobacco purchases. New Denver minimum wage will kill jobs of low-skill workers.
Cam Edwards. Bearing Arms. Oct. 3, 2019. Dems Reveal Contempt For Second Amendment At "Gun Violence" Forum. Kopel starts at 6:45.
Tom Gresham Gun Talk Radio. Sept. 22, 2019. Supreme Court 2nd Amendment Cases. Kopel starts at 13:39.
Walmart endorses gun control. Drew Mariani Show. Relevant Radio. Sept. 4, 2019.
Colorado Insisde Out. July 5, 2019. Full episode. Time machine 1923. The cast goes back in time to discuss the KKK, Denver Mayor Stapleton, alcohol prohibition, and much more. Patty Calhoun as Emily Griffith, Dave Kopel as future Governor and Senator "Big Ed" Johnson, and more. Meet the panel. Denver sheds its cowtown image. Benjamin Stapleton is Elected Mayor of Denver. Prohibition Takes a Tenuous Hold in Colorado. Jazz Sweeps the Country with Colo. Roots.
David Kopel on amicus brief on behalf of CO sheriffs against magazine ban. Dan Caplis Show. KHOW 630 AM. Denver. June 7, 2019.
Latest Monographs & Journal articles
Antecedents of the Second Amendment. Supplemental online chapter 16 to Firearms Law and the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights, and Policy (Wolters Kluwer, 2d ed. 2017). With Nicholas J. Johnson, George
Mocsary and Gregory Wallace. Covers ancient China, Greece, Rome, the Judeo-Christian tradition, and European political philosophy.
Federal Circuit Second Amendment Developments 2018. 7 Lincoln Memorial University Law Review (forthcoming 2019). With Joseph G.S. Greenlee.
The Second Amendment Rights of Young Adults. 43 Southern Illinois University Law Journal 495 (2019). With Joseph G.S. Greenlee.
The 'Sensitive Places' Doctrine: Locational Limits on the Right to Bear Arms. 13 Charleston Law Review 205 (2018).
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.
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.
The Right to Arms in Nineteenth Century Colorado. 95 Denver University Law Review 329 (2018).
In the Courts and Congress
Worman v. Healey. No. 19-404. U.S. Supreme Court. Oct. 24, 2019. Cert. petition amicus brief. Massachusetts ban on common arms violates Supreme Court precedent. The Supreme Court should bring order to the conflicting lower cases about bans on common arms.
Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue. No. 18-1195. U.S. Supreme Court. Sept. 18, 2019. Merits amicus brief. Many state constitutions, including Montana's, prohibit government aid to "sectarian" educational institutions. According to the original meaning, on the nineteenth century, "sectarian" did not refer to religion in general, but only to religions that were considered extreme, heretical, fanatical, or bad.
Remington v. Soto. No. 19-168. Sept. 4, 2019. Amicus brief of Professors of Second Amendment law, Cato Institue, Firearms Policy Coalition, Firearms Policy Foundation, California Gun Rights Foundation, Madison Foundation. and Independence Institute. Appendix of professor biographies.
RMGO v. Polis. No. 2018SC817. June 3, 2019. Colorado Supreme Court. Amicus brief of Colorado Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association, 32 County Sheriffs, and the Independence Institute. The ban on magazines over 15 rounds harms public safety and law enforcement. Motion for leave to file amicus brief.
People v. Vivian Claudine Brown. (Ill. 2019). Amicus brief on behalf of State’s Attorneys Stewart J. Umholtz and Brandon J. Zanotti, Professors Of Second Amendment Law, Firearms Policy Coalition, Firearms Policy Foundation, Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms, Millennial Policy Center, Independence Institute, and Carlisle Moody. Illinois FOID licensing law for firearms possession cannot be applied to peaceable possession of a lawful gun on one's own property by a person who is not prohibited from owning guns.
New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. New York City. No. 28-280. May 14, 2019. Amicus brief for Professors of Second Amendment law, 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. Appendix of professor biographies. The Second Circuit upheld New York City's ban on licensed handgun owners taking their handguns out of the City. The ban is contrary to good practices for safety training. The doctrinal errors found in the Second Circuit decision are prevalent in other circuits, demonstrating the need for further guidance from the Supreme Court.
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, written testimony on "Red Flag Laws: Examining Guidelines for State Action." Hearing on mental health and gun legislation. Kopel starts at 31:36. March 26, 2019.
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, 2018. 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.
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. |