2nd Amendment
The Incorporation Doctrine Waters Down the Second Amendment
Many people want the federal government to protect the right to keep and bear arms by applying the Second Amendment to the states and using it to limit state gun control. The problem with this strategy is that we almost always end up with a lower standard for the...
The 2nd Amendment isn’t your “Gun Permit.” You Are.
If you’re anything like me, your skin crawls anytime you hear someone say something like “the 2nd Amendment is the only gun permit I’ll ever need!” While I appreciate the sentiment in opposing permission schemes – along with the fees and government approvals...
Refuting the “Second Amendment Protected Slavery” Argument Part III: Ratifying the Bill of Rights
With the Constitution ratified by the necessary states in 1788, it officially became the supreme law of the land in the states so ratifying. Up until this point in the story, there wasn’t a single piece of direct, or even indirect evidence, of a concerted effort to...
Refuting the “Second Amendment Protected Slavery” Argument Part II: The Virginia Ratifying Convention
Note: This is the second in a three-part series examining a pro-slavery interpretation of the Second Amendment that persists to this day. You can read part 1 HERE. The Hidden History of the Second Amendment by law professor Carl T. Bogus argued that James...