Gun Scholar David Kopel Explains SCOTUS Oral Arguments in Second Amendment Case. The Reload. Nov. 12, 2023. 39 minutes.

Colorado's Sneaky Gun Registration Bill. And lots of other anti-gun bills. Devil's Advocate with Jon Caldara. Apr. 12, 2024. One hour.

Latest

Written testimony against House Bill 24-1310. Bill against armed, trained teachers and staff in K-12 would endanger students and protect school shooters.

Written testimony against House Bill 24-1270. Mandatory insurance for gun owners is based on Jim Crow principles, and is full of poison pills.

Written testimony against Colorado HB24-1242. "Assault weapons" bill is based on plainly false "findings." Further, the bill attempts to outlaw features that enhance accuracy, because the sponsors oppose "ease of use" of firearms by "non-experts." PDF.

Written testimony against Colorado SB24-131. Safe zones for mass shooters and other violent criminals. Bill to declare vast areas off-limits for licensed carry will endanger public safety. Licensed carry permitees are vastly more law-abiding than the general population.

Written testimony on Colorado bill to mandate separate Merchant Category Codes (MCC) for stores that sell firearms. SB24-066 Colorado Senate Business, Labor, and Technology Committee. Feb. 8, 2024.

Law Enforcement Trainers File Scotus Amicus Brief against Maryland Rifle Ban. Citizens should be able to choose the same high-quality defensive arms that peace officers choose. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Mar. 18, 2024.

Bianchi v. Brown, No. 23-863 (U.S. Sup. Ct., Mar. 13, 2024). Petition for certiorari before judgment. Amicus brief of International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, John Locke Foundation, and Independence Institute. So-called "assault" rifles fire at the same rate as common handguns, are less powerful than most other rifles, and in mass shootings are less deadly than handguns. Law enforcement officers choose the rifles because they are superb for lawful defense of self and others.

Newsom v. B and L Productions, No 23-3793 (9th Cir. Feb. 6, 2023). Amicus brief of Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and the Independence Institute. There is no historical support for the California legislature's ban on all gun shows on government property.

NRA v. Vullo, No. 22-842 (U.S. Sup. Ct., Jan. 16, 2023). Amicus brief of Second Amendment Foundation, John Locke Foundation, and Independence Institute. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the N.Y. Dept. of Financial Services sent written threats to banks and insurance companies warning them not to do business with the NRA. The effort to destroy and silence a constitutional advocacy organization was similar to the actions of segregationist state governments against the NAACP in the 1950s and 1960s. Cuomo has a long record of abusive attempts to eliminate First and Second Amendment rights. The Obama administration similarly abused tax and bank laws to try to choke off the First and Second Amendments. The Court should adhere to its precedents and hold unlawful Cuomo's threat-laundering.

Short articles

Law Enforcement Trainers File Scotus Amicus Brief against Maryland Rifle Ban. Citizens should be able to choose the same high-quality defensive arms that peace officers choose. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Mar. 18, 2024.

Preview of Supreme Court Bump Stock Case. In Cargill v. Garland, the Court should apply the National Firearms Act text that Congress did enact, and not the text that gun control advocates wish had been enacted. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Feb. 27, 2024.

"Shall Not Be Infringed" Is Pretty Clear. Analysis of recent court decisions in Maryland and Oregon, and the NY Times' sloppy coverage thereof. America's 1st Freedom. Jan. 18, 2024.

Firearms Law Works-in Progress Conference 2024. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Jan. 2, 2024.

History Podcasts for the New Year. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Dec. 29, 2023.

How Magazine Bans Thwart Self-Defense. Bans on standard magazines benefit criminals and endanger victims. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Dec. 20, 2023.

Hanukkah and the Jewish fight for independence. Complete Colorado. Dec. 11, 2023.

Law Enforcement Officers Are Part of "the People," Not Above Them. Law enforcement amicus brief against Colorado magazine ban. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Dec. 11, 2023.

In the Media

Even The Washington Post Called Joe Biden for This Second Amendment Lie. Townhall. Apr. 10, 2024. Matt Vespa.

Colorado Legislators Ditch Plan To Ban Guns in Dozens of 'Sensitive Places'. Reason. Apr. 5, 2024. Jacob Sullum.

This Colorado Bill Would Abolish the Right to Armed Self-Defense in Many 'Sensitive Places'. Legislators are taking a page from constitutionally dubious state laws that make carry permits highly impractical to use. Reason. Mar. 25, 2024. Jacob Sullum.

Maryland’s Gun Ban Mess: Will the Supreme Court Intervene? It was a hot mess at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Liberty Nation News. Mar. 25, 2024. Scott D. Cosenza.

Stop legislators from endangering the public. The Gazette. Mar. 24, 2024.

House committee OKs assault weapons ban bill. The Center Square. Mar. 20, 2024. Derek Draplin. Also in Kiowa County Press, Mar. 21.

Colorado can still block Trump. Top legal scholars highlight ways states can act against an insurrectionist presidential candidate. Colorado Newsline. Mar. 14, 2024. Quentin Young.

Misrepresenting Gun Tracing to Smear a US Senator. Townhall. Mar. 1, 2024. F. Paul Valone.

Concealed carry keeps growing in Colorado; over twenty-five thousand new permits in 2023. Complete Colorado. Feb. 24, 2024. Mike Krause.

Rocky Mountain Gun Owners Director Talks Strategy, Dudley Brown Status and Going Broke in 2023. Taylor Rhodes on the group's outspoken founder and future, as well as Colorado's "last stand" for gun rights. Westword. Feb, 8, 2024. Chris Perez.

Biden Reportedly Is Planning To Unilaterally Mandate Background Checks for All Gun Sales. A watchdog group cites ATF "whistleblowers" who describe a proposed policy that would be plainly inconsistent with federal law. Reason. Feb. 2, 2024. Jacob Sullum.

Ricketts signs brief urging protections for gun owners and Second Amendment. KOLN (Lincoln, Neb.). Jan. 30, 2024.

Lummis and GOP colleagues file amicus brief urging Supreme Court to lift bump stock ban. Washington Examiner. Jan. 26, 2024. Emily Jacobs.

Television, Radio, Podcasts 

Devil's Advocate with Jon Caldara. April 12, 2024. Discussion of anti-gun bills in the Colorado legislature. One hour.

Colorado Inside Out. April 12, 2024. The Xcel blackouts are going to become more frequent, because Xcel is replacing reliable power, such as natural gas, with unreliable, intermittent sources, namely solar and windmills. Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Republican Party Chair Dave Williams are both grifters, the worst persons ever to hold either office. Bill to end voter control of RTD. Denver budget cuts are the consequence of Biden opening the border to illegal immigration. Disgrace: Bill to eliminate TABOR refunds and use the money for welfare. Best thing: Denver U. Pioneers hockey team is again playing for the national championship.

Independence Institute's Dave Kopel on proposed Colorado firearm regulation. Colorado's Morning News with Marty Lenz & Jeana Gondek. KOA 850 AM. Mar. 19, 2024.

Gun Scholar David Kopel Explains SCOTUS Oral Arguments in Second Amendment Case. The Reload. Nov. 12, 2023.

Latest Monographs & Journal articles

The History of Bans on Types of Arms Before 1900. Including handguns, Bowie knives, daggers, slungshots, brass knuckles, cannons and more. 50 Journal of Legislation (Notre Dame, forthcoming 2024). With Joseph G.S. Greenlee.

Restoring the right to bear arms: New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. In 2021-22 Cato Supreme Court Review (Trevor Burrus ed., Sept. 16, 2022).

Guns Kill People, and Tyrants with Gun Monopolies Kill the Most. 25 Gonzaga Journal of International Law 20 (2021).

Errors of Omission: Words Missing from the Ninth Circuit's Young v. State of Hawaii, 2021 University of Illinois Law Review Online 172 (May 13, 2021). With George A. Mocsary.

Red Flag Laws: Proceed with Caution. 45 (Alabama) Law & Psychology Review 39 (2021).

In the Courts and Legislatures

Bianchi v. Brown, No. 23-863 (U.S. Sup. Ct., Mar. 13, 2024). Petition for certiorari before judgment. Amicus brief of International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, John Locke Foundation, and Independence Institute. So-called "assault" rifles fire at the same rate as common handguns, are less powerful than most other rifles, and in mass shootings are less deadly than handguns. Law enforcement officers choose the rifles because they are superb for lawful defense of self and others.

Newsom v. B and L Productions, No 23-3793 (9th Cir. Feb. 6, 2023). Amicus brief of Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and the Independence Institute. There is no historical support for the California legislature's ban on all gun shows on government property.

Garland v. Cargill, No. 22-976 (U.S. Sup. Ct., Jan. 26, 2023). Amicus brief of Senators Cynthia M. Lummis (Wyoming), Mike Lee (Utah), Kevin Cramer (North Dakota), John Barrasso (Wyoming), Pete Ricketts (Nebraska), Steve Daines (Montana), Cindy Hyde-Smith (Mississippi), Mike Rounds (South Dakota), Markwayne Mullin (Oklahoma); Professors Royce de R. Barondes (Missouri, emeritus), F. Lee Francis (Mississippi College School of Law), Nicholas J. Johnson (Fordham), Donald E.J. Kilmer, Jr. (Lincoln Law School), Joyce Malcolm (George Mason, emerita), Joseph V. Muha (Akron), Joseph E. Olson (Mitchell-Hamline, emeritus), David A. Raney (Hillsdale), Glenn H. Reynolds (Tennessee), E. Gregory Wallace (Campbell); and the Independence Institute. In judicial review of the BATFE's regulation outlawing bump stocks, Chevron deference should not be applied. The rule of lenity does apply, and the standard with the strongest basis in American legal tradition is reasonable doubt. The National Firearms Act does not outlaw all "rapid-fire" guns; to the contrary, BATFE has repeatedly affirmed that Gatling guns are not covered by the NFA. The Court should apply the actual text of the NFA ("single function of the trigger"), and not BATFE's regulatory substitute ("single pull").

NRA v. Vullo, No. 22-842 (U.S. Sup. Ct., Jan. 16, 2023). Amicus brief of Second Amendment Foundation, John Locke Foundation, and Independence Institute. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the N.Y. Dept. of Financial Services sent written threats to banks and insurance companies warning them not to do business with the NRA. The effort to destroy and silence a constitutional advocacy organization was similar to the actions of segregationist state governments against the NAACP in the 1950s and 1960s. Cuomo has a long record of abusive attempts to eliminate First and Second Amendment rights. The Obama administration similarly abused tax and bank laws to try to choke off the First and Second Amendments. The Court should adhere to its precedents and hold unlawful Cuomo's threat-laundering.

Gates v. Polis, No. 22-cv-1866-GPG-SKC (D. Colo., Nov. 30, 2023). Amicus brief of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, the Colorado Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association, the Western States Sheriffs Association, Sheriffs John Feyen (Larimer County), Gene Lillard (Montrose), Brett Powell (Logan), Todd Rowell (Mesa), Steve Reams (Weld), Aaron Shiplett (Baca), Lou Vallario (Garfield), Sam Zordel (Prowers), and the Independence Institute. Colorado ban on magazines over 15 rounds endangers public safety. Motion for Leave to File Amicus Brief.

United States v. Rahimi. No. 22-915 (U.S. Sup. Ct., Oct. 4, 2023). Amicus brief on behalf of professors Randy Barnett, Robert Cottrol, Lee Francis, Donald Kilmer, Joyce Malcolm, George Mocsary, Joseph Muha, Joseph Olson, Glenn Reynolds, and Gregory Wallace; the Second Amendment Law Center; and the Independence Institute. Old and discriminatory gun control laws that were repudiated by subsequent constitutional enactments are not valid precedents to support modern gun controls. Restricting arms rights of individuals whom a court has found to be "a credible threat" to intimate partners does not infringe the Second Amendment; disarming people with no judicial findings at all does infringe the Second Amendment. Thus, 18 U.S.C. sect. 922(g)(8)(C)(i) is not an infringement, and (C)(ii) is an infringement.