2A Scholar David Kopel Reacts to SCOTUS Weed and Guns Oral Arguments. The Reload. Mar. 8, 2026. 40 mins.

Colorado Inside Out. Apr. 10, 2026. Bill for government to stop releasing insane violent criminals back onto the streets. Worst candidate for Colo. Attorney General is incompetent Jena Griswold. Senator Bennett ought to say whether he agrees with people who want to exterminate Israel. Colorado child care program is foundering because state government prioritizes loafers and big business over safety net for Colorado citizens. Worst thing: state legislature attack on democrat elections for RTD Board. Best thing: Remembering the great journalist Fred Brown.

New

National Shooting Sports Foundation v. James, No. 25-1026 (U.S. Sup. Ct. Mar. 30, 2026). Amicus brief of National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, American Suppressor Association, and Independence Institute in support of cert. petition. New York's latest attemtpt to evade the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

Guns Are Lethal: The History of Five Centuries of Improvements in Firearms Efficacy. 68 William and Mary Law Review (forthcoming 2026). Because virtually every enhancement serving legitimate defensive, hunting, or militia uses also increases potential for misuse, efforts to impose tort liability for "excessive" lethality conflict with centuries of constitutional recognition of firearms' inherently lethal role in the constitutional right to arms.

United States v. Hemani, No. 24-1234 (U.S. Sup. Ct. Jan. 30, 2026). Amicus brief of National Rifle Association and the Independence Institute. Federal ban on firearms possession by marijuana users violates the history and tradition of the right to arms.

Testimony on Colo. SB26-004 (Jan. 29, 2026). University of Colorado study shows that Colorado's red flag gun confiscation law is failing and inaccurate. Rather than fix it, the gun confiscation lobbies aim to expand it.

Wolford v. Lopez, No. 24-1046 (U.S. Sup. Ct. Nov. 24, 2025). Amicus brief of National Rifle Association and Independence Institute. Hawaii's "vampire rule" that bans licensed firearms carriers from entering public premises is contrary to the American legal tradition. Persons with carry permits are far more law-abiding than the general population. Brief cited by the United States during oral arugment, p. 50.

National Rifle Association v. Vullo. No. 25-479 (U.S. Sup. Ct., Nov. 19, 2025). Amicus brief of Business and Financial Law Scholars and Independence Institute. Scholars are Eric C. Alston (U. Colo. Business), Daniel D. Barnhizer (Mich. St. Law) Martin Edwards (U. Mississippi Law), Sean J. Griffith (Fordham Law), Julie Hill (Dean, U. Wyo. Law), Jeremy Kidd (Drake Law), George A. Mocsary (U. Wyo. Law), Joseph Olson (Mitchell Hamline Law, emeritus), Todd Zywicki (George Mason Law). Superintendant Vullo's attempt to destroy the NRA by debanking was a well-known pressure tactic of financial regulators, and she is not entitled to qualified immunity for purportedly not understanding her own actions.

The Buckeye Institute v. Internal Revenue Service, No. 25-3170 (6th Cir. Nov. 26, 2025). Amicus brief of Independence Institute. Historically, the English government used the tax code to control the press. Tax statutes may abrirdge the freedom of speech or the press should be judged under the same standards as other statutes, not a lesser standard.

Short articles

Supreme Court to Decide Firearms Ban for Marijuana Users. NRA Amicus Brief Argues that Ban Fails Bruen. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Jan. 30, 2026.

Conference for Arms Law Scholars. The 2026 Firearms Law Works-in-Progress Conference. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Jan. 30, 2026.

Refereeing the Debate over the 2021 National Firearms Survey. Critics of Prof. William English's survey sometimes miss the mark, but also raise valid questions. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Sept. 22, 2025.

The Dean of Gun Lobbyists. John Snyder’s Oral History. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Sept. 22, 2025.

Turning Credit Cards into Comprehensive Financial Surveillance. New laws on interchange fees will transform credit card payments into detailed government-accessible records of every item purchased, including firearms. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. July 14, 2025.

Colorado Supreme Court nullified consent of the governed. Here’s how. ‘The plain text of the Colorado Constitution has in effect been replaced by the court’s lawless imposition of a rational basis test that legalizes precisely what the Colorado Constitution was enacted to forbid’. (Aurora) Sentinel. July 8, 2025.

In the Media

Gov. Polis, AG Weiser at odds over marijuana users owning guns. Complete Colorado. Feb. 10, 2026. Savana Kascak.

Are guns barred at protests, as Kash Patel said? In most states, no. Politifact. Jan. 27, 2026. Louis Jacobson.

CPW begins meetings for semi-automatic licensing scheme. Complete Colorado. Jan. 23, 2026. Savana Kascak.

Second Amendment Roundup: Wolford and the government security principle for sensitive places. Volokh Conspiracy. Jan. 21, 2026. Stephen Halbrook.

A third of Colorado's sheriffs keep posses as reserve officers' ranks decline. Denver Post. Dec. 17, 2025. Shelly Bradbury.

Is Gov. Jared Polis really a 'sleazebag' or does he just endorse sleazebags on social media? Denver Post. Dec. 10, 2025. Megan Schrader. "Polis didn't highlight the work of fiscal conservatives like Jake Fogelman and Nash Herman or even the Second Amendment advocacy of Dave Kopel."

David Kopel Makes the Oxford English Dictionary Examples. Reason/Volokh Conspiracy. Sept. 20, 2025.

CO Gun Activists Reject Trump Admin’s Plan to Ban Trans People From Owning Firearms. Colorado Times Recorder, Sept. 8, 2025. James O'Rourke.

Analysis: Legal Experts See Tough Climb for New Lawsuit Against the National Firearms Act. The Reload. July11, 2025. Stephen Gutowski.

Television, Radio, Podcasts 

Colorado Inside Out. Apr. 10, 2026. Bill for government to stop releasing insane violent criminals back onto the streets. Worst candidate for Colo. Attorney General is incompetent Jena Griswold. Senator Bennett ought to say whether he agrees with people who want to exterminate Israel. Colorado child care program is foundering because state government prioritizes loafers and big business over safety net for Colorado citizens. Worst thing: state legislature attack on democrat elections for RTD Board. Best thing: Remember the great journalist Fred Brown.

Colorado Inside Out. Mar. 20, 2026. Power outages and train stoppages at DIA show why Pena administration was foolish to not to build walkways at airport. and voting app glitches disrupting Democratic caucuses. Far-left Denver City Council loses federal funding by violating antidiscrimination rules. Bill against sports gambling is based on false claims. Jeffco Schools should stop violating Title IX and stop allowing male cheaters in girls' sports. Primary challenger to Rep. Diana Degette is hot air, zero accomplishment. Worst thing: Junk scientist misanthrope Paul Ehrlich was one of the most harmful people of the past century. Best thing: State legislature moving to correct the terrible AI law it passed 2 years ago.

2A Scholar David Kopel Reacts to SCOTUS Weed and Guns Oral Arguments. The Reload. Mar. 8, 2026. 40 mins.

Latest Monographs & Journal articles

Guns Are Lethal: The History of Five Centuries of Improvements in Firearms Efficacy. 68 William and Mary Law Review (forthcoming 2026). Because virtually every enhancement serving legitimate defensive, hunting, or militia uses also increases potential for misuse, efforts to impose tort liability for "excessive" lethality conflict with centuries of constitutional recognition of firearms' inherently lethal role in the constitutional right to arms.

John Snyder: An Oral History of the Dean of Washington Gun Lobbyists. (U. Wyo.) Firearms Research Center, Working Paper No. 2025-7.

Big Business as Gun Control. 129 Dickinson Law Review 851 (2025). With George A. Mocsary and Bhav Ninder Singh. Covers and examines possible solutions for debanking, financial blacklisting, New York's egregious abuses, disclosure of private banking information, merchant credit codes, and censorship by social media giants.

Negating Democratic Consent: How the Colorado Supreme Court has Nullified Colorado Constitutional Limits on Taxes, Debt, and Corporate Privilege. 102 Denver Univ. Law Review 449 (2025).

Machine Gun History and Bibliography. 25 Wyoming Law Review 45 (2025).

The Social Cost of Nullifying the Right to Arms: The Case of Mexico. 62 South Texas Law Review 137 (2025). With Joseph G.S. Greenlee and Bhav Ninder Singh.

In the Courts and Legislatures

National Shooting Sports Foundation v. James, No. 25-1026 (U.S. Sup. Ct. Mar. 30, 2026). Amicus brief of National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, American Suppressor Association, and Independence Institute in support of cert. petition. New York's latest attemtpt to evade the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

United States v. Hemani, No. 24-1234 (U.S. Sup. Ct. Jan. 30, 2026). Amicus brief of National Rifle Association and the Independence Institute. Federal ban on firearms possession by marijuana users violates the history and tradition of the right to arms.

Wolford v. Lopez, No. 24-1046 (U.S. Sup. Ct. Nov. 24, 2025). Amicus brief of National Rifle Association and Independence Institute. Hawaii's "vampire rule" that bans licensed firearms carriers from entering public premises is contrary to the American legal tradition. Persons with carry permits are far more law-abiding than the general population. Brief cited by the United States during oral arugment, p. 50.

National Rifle Association v. Vullo. No. 25-479 (U.S. Sup. Ct., Nov. 19, 2025). Amicus brief of Business and Financial Law Scholars and Independence Institute. Scholars are Eric C. Alston (U. Colo. Business), Daniel D. Barnhizer (Mich. St. Law) Martin Edwards (U. Mississippi Law), Sean J. Griffith (Fordham Law), Julie Hill (Dean, U. Wyo. Law), Jeremy Kidd (Drake Law), George A. Mocsary (U. Wyo. Law), Joseph Olson (Mitchell Hamline Law, emeritus), Todd Zywicki (George Mason Law). Superintendant Vullo's attempt to destroy the NRA by debanking was a well-known pressure tactic of financial regulators, and she is not entitled to qualified immunity for purportedly not understanding her own actions.

The Buckeye Institute v. Internal Revenue Service, No. 25-3170 (6th Cir. Nov. 26, 2025). Amicus brief of Independence Institute. Historically, the English government used the tax code to control the press. Tax statutes may abrirdge the freedom of speech or the press should be judged under the same standards as other statutes, not a lesser standard.

United States v. Peterson. No. 24-30043. Amicus brief of National Rifle Association, American Suppressor Association, and Independence Institute in support of petition for rehearing en banc (5th Cir., Sept. 17, 2025). If suppressors are Second Amendment arms, then registration is unconstitutional.

Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County. No. 25-170, 2025 WL 2664308. Amicus brief of Frontier Institute, Independence Institute, Pelican Institute, and Manhattan Institute in support of cert. petition. (U.S. Sup. Ct., Sept. 11, 2025). Colorado local governments cannot use local tort suits to control national energy policy.