Senior Fellow, Cato Institute
Senior Fellow on Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute and a member of the Institute's Board of Directors, co-counsel in District of Columbia v Heller, he led the challenge to the District of Columbia's gun-control law
The Constitutional Right to Gun Ownership The US Supreme Court has settled an issue as old as the Bill of Rights: individuals must be allowed to own guns . But Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority, also said, "Since this case represents this court's first in-depth examination of the Second Amendment, one should not expect it to clarify the entire field." Both sides have predicted a flood of lawsuits to seek "clarification," and sure enough, they're already being filed. If they can't ban guns, what kinds of regulations can governments impose? We ask about background checks, registration, assault weapons, trigger locks and carrying concealed weapons. What about gun crime and public safety? How long will it take to sort it all out, city by city and state by state?
The Supreme Court Considers the Right to Bear Arms Today the US Supreme Court heard arguments that have been percolating for more than 200 years on the meaning of these 27 words: "a well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." The case was brought by a private security guard who guarded a federal office building and wanted the right to take his revolver home at the end of his shift. "They give me a gun to protect them," Dick Heller says of the government, "but I'm a second-class citizen when I finish work." Attorneys seek to overturn the ban on registering handguns in the capital, the ban on having a concealed weapon at home and the requirement that any licensed riffles or shotguns stored at home be unloaded and locked. Does the Second Amendment grant each of us an uninfringeable right to bear arms or was it intended to provide arms only for a well-regulated militia?
The Supreme Court Considers the Right to Bear Arms Today the US Supreme Court heard arguments that have been percolating for more than 200 years on the meaning of these 27 words: "a well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." The case was brought by a private security guard who guarded a federal office building and wanted the right to take his revolver home at the end of his shift. "They give me a gun to protect them," Dick Heller says of the government, "but I'm a second-class citizen when I finish work." Attorneys seek to overturn the ban on registering handguns in the capital, the ban on having a concealed weapon at home and the requirement that any licensed riffles or shotguns stored at home be unloaded and locked. Does the Second Amendment grant each of us an uninfringeable right to bear arms or was it intended to provide arms only for a well-regulated militia?
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.