Dave Kopel Website

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Research Areas

Arts and Literature. Criminal Justice & U.S. Const. amends. 4-10.

Digital Economy. Environment. Health, Education & Welfare.

History. International.

Media and 1st Amendment. Religion

Right to Arms: Policy issues. Right to Arms: Law, history, politics. Right to Arms: International.

Terrorism (& Fahrenheit 9/11). Waco

Archives

Briefs and legal citations.

Newspaper & magazines articles: 2007 to present; 2001-2006; 1986-2000.

Books, law review articles, other scholarly publications.

Blogging 2014-present. Archive.

Video archive. Audio archive

SSRN author page. Google Scholar. DU Law faculty page.

Social media

Kopel on Twitter.

Kopel's Law & Liberty News. Twice-daily web newspaper collecting articles from Kopel and those whom he follows on Twitter. Mainly in English, some Spanish, and sometimes French or Italian.

Kopel blogging for the Volokh Conspiracy, hosted by Reason magazine.

Click the icon to get RSS/XML updates of this website, and of Dave's blog posts.

Books

Author page on Amazon.

Firearms Law and the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights and Policy. Law school textbook and treatise. (Oct. 2018: Aspen Pubs., 2d edition). With Nicholas J. Johnson, George S. Mocsary, and Michael P. O'Shea. Publisher webpage. Free supplemental online chapters: Chapter 13: International Law; covers United Nations, regional treaties, classical founders of international law, right to resist genocide, globalization of gun rights and gun bans. Chapter 14: Comparative Law: self-defense and defense against tyranny in national constitutions, comparative statistical studies, case studies of various nations, long-term homicide risks in Europe are much higher than in the US because of insufficient arms to resist mass murder by government, case study of resistance to the Armenian genocide; 100 page case study of mass murder and gun bans in China and Tibet under Mao. Chapter 16: Antecedents of the Second Amendment; covers ancient China, Greece, Rome, the Judeo-Christian tradition, and European political philosophy.

The Morality of Self-Defense and Military Action: The Judeo-Christian Tradition (Praeger Books, ABC/CLIO). Google books edition. Book interview on "Devil's Advocate," CPT 12 Denver, 15 minutes.

Rules for State Legislators: Jerry Kopel's Guide (2015). With Jerry Kopel.

The Truth about Gun Control (Encounter Books, 2013). Who is sovereign in the United States? Is it the people themselves, or is it an elite determined to rule citizens who are seen as incapable of making choices about their own lives? This is the central question in the American gun-control debate. Animated video featuring a section of the book. 4 minutes. Reprinted in Saving the Republic: The Fate of Freedom in the Age of the Administrative State. Roger Kimbal, ed. (Encounter Books, Jan. 23, 2018).

More books by Kopel.

World Languages

Francais. Italiano. Espanol.

Polski /Polish. Portugues. Cesky /Czech

Magyar /Hungarian. Pусскии/Russian.

Colorado Inside Out. Jan. 22, 2021. Biden's inaugural speech was good, but he then promptly started messing up the virus response. Colorado vaccinations are in a race against the mutant strains of the CCP virus. Ethics complaint against Mayor Michael Hancock has no legal basis, and Hancock has a pattern of bad judgment. Bri Buwntello's bizarre rage tweeting against Rep. Lauren Boebert. Disgrace/something nice: Biden executive order allows "race or sex stereotyping and scapegoating" against federal employees. Many good teachers are going back to classrooms to help students recover from nearly a year of lost learning.

Latest brief: Caniglia v. Strom. No. 20-157. Merits amicus brief of Firearms Policy Coalition, Firearms Policy Foundation, and Independence Institute (Jan. 15, 2021). A judicially-created "community caretaking exception" to the Fourth Amendment allows warrantless searches of automobiles without probable cause. Can the exception be extended to the home? The amicus brief urges not, based on the historical sanctity of the home in Anglo-American law, plus analysis of the text of the Amendments I through V.

Short articles

How to Speak to New Gun Owners. America's 1st Freedom. Feb. 2021.

Defund the Police. “Defund the police” is not the slogan of people who sincerely believe that black lives matter. Independent Thinking. Winter 2021.

Christmas for Everyone: Graland's Christmas Pageant. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Dec. 24, 2020. A story of religious majorities and minorities thriving together.

The NRA Has Always Stood For Freedom. America's 1st Freedom. Jan. 2021. (published Dec. 24, 2020).

The Cult of Mao 1966 v. 2020. Part 3: An all encompassing religion. Epoch Times. Dec. 9, 2020. Part 3 in a series observing similarities between China’s Cultural Revolution and the United States today. The Cultural Revolution culminated in a new religion based on worship of Chairman Mao. In West today, the "woke" admirers of Maoism have created a new religion based on violence, hatred, and totalitarianism.

Rage Mobs 1966 v. 2020. Part 2: Red Guards begin rampaging. Epoch Times. Dec. 9, 2020. Part 2 in a series observing similarities between China’s Cultural Revolution and the United States today.

Cultural Revolution 1966 v. 2020 Part 1: The start of the Cultural Revolution in China. Epoch Times. Dec. 6, 2020. Part 1 in a series observing similarities between China’s Cultural Revolution and the United States today.

How Availability Cascades are Shaping our Politics. Quillette. Oct. 26, 2020. With Vincent Harinam.

Gun Control Puts Your Life at Risk. In the 20th century, far more people were murdered by genocidal governments than by armed criminals. Reason. Oct. 2020.

In the Media

Fed Rule Bars Banks From Targeting Gun Manufacturers: Admin rebukes Obama-era Operation Choke Point. Washington Free Beacon. Jan. 15, 2021. Stephen Gutowski.

Are Mexico's stringent gun control laws aiding a rise in cartel violence? Some citizens are demanding greater access to firearms for self-defense as the country's murder rate soars. Fox News. Nov. 14, 2020. Hollie McKay.

Yes, there is a study of cascading stupidity. Daily Journal (Indiana). Nov. 12, 2020. Craig Ladwig.

Palabra de Trump: Valoraría la reelección como una reivindicación de su personalidad. La Razón (Spain). Nov. 4, 2020.

Colorado’s Proposition 113 is a linchpin in national popular vote campaign but major hurdles remain: The political landscape suggests the national popular vote compact is unlikely to come to fruition and legal challenges loom large. Colorado Sun. Oct. 14, 2020. Evan Ochsner.

Riots Likely Drove 2020's Biggest Gun Sales Spike. Seasonally adjusted sales hit unprecedented levels in June, analysis shows. Washington Free Beacon. Sept. 8, 2020. Charles Fain Lehman and Stephen Gutowski.

National Popular Vote statute violates Colorado Constitution says DU law professor. Complete Colorado. Sept. 6, 2020. Scott Weiser.

Kyle Rittenhouse and his militia defense ignores that private paramilitaries are illegal, NBC Think. Sept. 5, 2020. Erik Schechter.

Alvin York & the U.S. Gun Culture that Saved Europe, GATDaily. Sept. 4, 2020. Miguel Faria.

Knife Rights: Amicus Brief Filed in Hawaii Butterfly Knife Second Amendment Case, Ammoland.com. Sept. 1, 2020. Doug Ritter.

Television, Radio, Podcasts  

Colorado Inside Out. Jan. 22, 2021. Full episode. Biden's inaugural speech was good, but he then promptly started messing up the virus response. Colorado vaccinations are in a race against the mutant strains of the CCP virus. Ethics complaint against Mayor Michael Hancock has no legal basis, and Hancock has a pattern of bad judgment. Bri Buwntello's bizarre rage tweeting against Rep. Lauren Boebert. Disgrace/something nice: Biden executive order allows "race or sex stereotyping and scapegoating" against federal employees. Many good teachers are going back to classrooms to help students recover from nearly a year of lost learning.

Colorado Inside Out. Jan. 15, 2021. Full episode. Conspiracy theories about Rep. Boebert aiding the rioters are just as kooky as her theory that Trump really won the election. Democratic rulers of Colo. legislature impose Rule 44, to block Republicans from introducing bills. Key problem for vaccines is production. Trump plan to move Space Command is dangerous to national security. Disgrace/Something Nice: VP Pence and Rep. Cheney are patriotic profiles in courage. Trump wedding photo with Clintons covers 3/4 of all presidential impeachments.

Colorado Inside Out. Jan. 8, 2021. Full episode. Trump should be impeached; Boebert and Lamborn's votes against certifying electors continue the poisonous 2017 and 2005 traditions of Pelosi, Clyburn, and Hoyer. Peaceful pro-Trump protesters at the Colorado Capitol have been conned by Trump. Colorado's mediocre vaccine rollout is better than many other states. Disgrace/Something nice: D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser foolishly rejected federal law enforcement assistance the day before the riot. Celebrating the 90th birthday of Dave's mother, Dolores Kopel.

The Mandy Connell Show. How availability cascades poison our politics. KOA 850AM radio, Denver. Oct. 29, 2020. Kopel starts at 54:34.

The Craig Silverman Show. Podcast. Topics include guns, Lauren Boebert, electoral college, religion. Oct. 24, 2020. Kopel is 1:40:19 to 2:30:53.

Reforming Mental Health Law to Protect Public Safety and Help the Severely Mentally Ill. Pennsylvania Bar Institute. Continuing Legal Education. One hour. Oct. 26, 2020.

Fewer Guns, More Genocide: Europe in the 20th Century. Northwestern University Law Review Symposium, panel 3: Theory and Conflict. Oct. 9, 2020.

The stakes in the Amy Coney Barrett nomination. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Russian language station. Sept. 26, 2020.

Guns: Culture, Control, and Trump. Devil's Advocate with Jon Caldara. July 24, 2020. Examining increases in gun ownership in 2020, and over the last seven decades. The racist history of American gun control. 36 minutes.

Constitutional Chats, from Constituting America. Federalist Paper 37, The Difficulties of Convention, by James Madison. June 9, 2020. Because of the limits of human knowledge and language, and the diversity of human interests, the proposed Constitution could not be expected to be theoretically perfect. One hour video.

Latest Monographs & Journal articles

Fewer Guns, More Genocide: Europe in the Twentieth Century. 116 Northwestern Univ. Law Review (forthcoming 2021).

The National Popular Vote Violates the Colorado Constitution. Denver Law Review Forum (22-Sept.-2020). With Hunter Hovenga. HTML

Red Flag Laws: Proceed with Caution. 45 (Alabama) Law & Psychology Review (forthcoming 2020).

In the Courts and Congress

Caniglia v. Strom. No. 20-157. Merits amicus brief of Firearms Policy Coalition, Firearms Policy Foundation, and Independence Institute (Jan. 15, 2021). A judicially-created "community caretaking exception" to the Fourth Amendment allows warrantless searches of automobiles without probable cause. Can the exception be extended to the home? The amicus brief urges not, based on the historical sanctity of the home in Anglo-American law, plus analysis of the text of the Amendments I through V.

Folajtar v. Rosen. No 20-812. Cert. petition amicus brief of Cato Institute, Reason Foundation, Individual Rights Foundation, and Independence Institute. (Jan. 14, 2021). Lisa Folajtar pled guilty to cheating on her taxes in 2011, and served three years probation. She has been law-abiding ever since, and has never been dangerous. She should not lose the right to arms for the rest of her life.

Holloway v. Rosen. No. 20-782. Cert. petition amicus brief of Cato Institute, Reason Foundation, Individual Rights Foundation, Independence Institute, and Mountain States Legal Foundation Center to Keep and Bear Arms (Jan. 7, 2021). The Second Amendment allows dangerous people to be disarmed, but not disarmament of a person who is said to lack "virtue."

Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, Inc. v. Attorney General of New Jersey. No. 19-3142 (3d Cir. Sept. 22, 2020). Amicus brief of law professors, Firearms Policy Coalition, Firearms Policy Foundation, Madison Society Foundation, California Gun Rights Foundation, and Independence Institute. In support of petition for rehearing en banc, regarding N.J. magazine confiscation statute.

Young v. Hawaii, No. 12-17808 (9th Cir. en banc 2020). Amicus brief for Professors of Second Amendment Law, Firearms Policy Coalition, Firearms Policy Foundation, Cato Institute, Madison Society Foundation, California Gun Rights Foundation, Second Amendment Foundation, and Independence Institute. Hawaii ban on licensed open carry.

Vermont v. Misch, No. 2019–266 (Apr. 24, 2020). Amicus brief of Cato Institute, Firearms Policy Coalition, Firearms Policy Foundation, and Independence Institute. Vermont magazine ban violates the text, history, tradition, and policy of the Vermont Constitution's right to arms. Statutory addendum.