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?
Midterm Elections and the Divider in Chief During a visit to Pittsburgh to honor the victims of an anti-Semitic attack, President Trump was met with protests. The president has ridiculed Democrats targeted with pipe bombs and deployed troops against Central American asylum seekers. By defying the tradition of ‘President as Unifier,’ can Trump help maintain Republican dominance in Washington?
The Left, Right & Center Midterms Special The results are in. Who’s happy? Who’s not?
Dana Rohrabacher to KCRW: 'Public broadcasting has been so rotten' As Democrats work to take control of Congress in next week’s midterm elections, they’ve managed to turn a handful of solidly Republican districts into toss ups. One of those is held by Dana Rohrabacher and polls show a dead heat between Rohrabacher and his opponent Harley Rouda. KCRW’s Saul Gonzalez headed over to check in on Rohrabacher's campaign.