A Front Row Seat to History—D.C. vs. Heller

On March 18, 2008, the Second Amendment hung in the judicial balance. That morning, the U.S. Supreme Court would hear oral arguments in District of Columbia v. Heller. The question was stark: is the Second Amendment “right to keep and bear Arms” an ordinary individual right? Or would the Court hold that the Second Amendment … Read more

D.C. to Pay Gun Owners $5.1 Million for Unconstitutional Arrests and Confiscations

D.C. will pay $5.1 million as part of a class-action settlement with gun owners who were arrested under laws that have since been found to violate the Second Amendment, according to the settlement agreement. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth gave preliminary approval to the settlement agreement on Monday following years of litigation. Lamberth had … Read more

Heller’s Limits: Regulating Firearms and Limiting Gun Rights Protect Our Democracy

Heller’s distinctive focus poses a threat because the Court — changed by Trump appointments — is poised to expand constitutional protections for gun rights outside the home, without taking into account how the practice of public carry has changed in the last decade. “Open carry” advocates have sought, self-consciously and with some success, to normalize … Read more

Phew! Deep Linguistic Research Confirms Scalia’s Heller Interpretation of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Finally! Proof positive that the right to keep and bear arms as described in the Second Amendment is, in fact, an individual right. [I]t is not enough to consider keep and bear arms in a vacuum. The Second Amendment’s operative clause refers to “the right of the people.” We conducted another search in [Corpus of … Read more

The Supreme Court’s Failure to Defend Heller Has Created The Situation in Virginia

By Theresa Inacker Why does it seem that liberal extremists are pursuing new infringements on gun rights seemingly unchecked? Why do we have an escalated situation in Virginia where liberal politicians seek to further infringe the Second Amendment rights of its citizens, threatening imprisonment and even violence against Constitutional gun owners who have committed no … Read more

Eleven Years of Ignoring the Heller Decision is More Than Enough

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of New York gives the Supreme Court its best chance to stop cities, states and lower courts from thumbing their noses at the Second Amendment. The late Justice Antonin Scalia wrote: “We know of no other enumerated constitutional right whose core protection has been subjected to … Read more