Guns Seemingly Unknown Antebellum Pennsylvania Case Briefly Mentioning the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 11.10.2025 1:31 PM
Guns 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. David Kopel |The Volokh Conspiracy | 9.23.2025 12:53 PM
Second Amendment Florida's Ban on Openly Carrying Guns Is Unconstitutional, State Appeals Court Rules A unanimous three-judge panel concluded that "no historical tradition supports" the 1987 law. Jacob Sullum | 9.11.2025 1:10 PM
Self-Defense Conflict and Loathing Among Signature Gatherers + Battery, Slurs, and Self-Defense "While Mr. Legorreta may have been calling Cobham an 'asshole' and making other comments, and even if he called Cobham the 'N' word these events do not justify or provide a defense of self-defense." Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.25.2025 8:01 AM
Self-Defense In Dangerous Times, Train for Self-Defense My wife and I built our defensive skills with six days of sweat, dust, and the right mindset. J.D. Tuccille | 6.2.2025 7:00 AM
Police Abuse A Federal Judge Says New Mexico Cops Reasonably Killed an Innocent Man at the Wrong House U.S. District Judge Matthew Garcia rejected the argument that the officers "recklessly created the need to apply deadly force by going to the wrong address." Jacob Sullum | 5.21.2025 6:00 PM
Gun Control California Concealed Carry Now Available to Out-of-Staters It’s a small step in the right direction for self-defense rights. J.D. Tuccille | 4.28.2025 7:00 AM
Guns Indiana Defendants Get "Benefit of Hindsight When It Reveals Their Conduct Was Necessary in Self-Defense," … "even though that necessity wasn't fully apparent in the moment." Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 3.14.2025 8:01 AM
weapons Covering for Their Own Failures, U.K. Officials Blame Violent Crime on Access to Knives Politicians who’ve dropped the ball inevitably see the solution as reducing people's freedom. J.D. Tuccille | 1.27.2025 7:00 AM
Self-Defense Man's Assault Claim Against Woman Who Defended Man's Ex-Girlfriend Loses to Defense-of-Others Defense Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 1.9.2025 12:38 PM
Police Abuse NYPD Opened Fire on a Fare Jumper, Shooting 2 Bystanders and a Cop Gotham’s police department has a long history of shooting bystanders in "self defense." Matthew Petti | 9.16.2024 3:09 PM
Guns The FBI Is Undercounting Firearm Self-Defense Incidents "A couple million times a year, people use guns defensively," says economist and author John Lott. John Stossel | 9.12.2024 10:45 AM
Second Amendment 9th Circuit Partly Upholds Injunctions Against Location-Specific Gun Bans in California and Hawaii The ruling says some restrictions on guns in "sensitive places" are constitutionally dubious but upholds several others. Jacob Sullum | 9.9.2024 4:30 PM
Second Amendment A Federal Judge Says Carry-Permit Holders Have a Right to Armed Self-Defense on Public Transit The ruling concludes that the government failed to show an Illinois ban is "consistent with this Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation." Jacob Sullum | 9.4.2024 2:15 PM
Self-Defense Massachusetts Switchblade Ban Overturned on Second Amendment Grounds The Second Amendment doesn’t protect guns; it protects the human right to self-defense. J.D. Tuccille | 9.2.2024 7:00 AM
War on Drugs Federal Judge Highlights the Hazards of Reckless Drug War Tactics The ruling notes that Breonna Taylor’s death resulted from the "late-night, surprise manner of entry." Jacob Sullum | 8.28.2024 12:01 AM
Second Amendment 2 Contradictory Decisions on AR-15 Bans Reflect Clashing Views of Supreme Court Precedents Does the Second Amendment allow the government to ban guns in common use for lawful purposes? Jacob Sullum | 8.14.2024 12:01 AM
Free Speech When Is Fighting Back Against a Police Dog Animal Abuse? Detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an open maw. Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 8.8.2024 10:49 AM
Voting Nobody Owes Trump Their Vote. Not Even Kyle Rittenhouse. After announcing he would vote for Ron Paul, an onslaught of criticism ensued. Those critiques missed the mark, even though the gun rights advocate ultimately caved. Billy Binion | 8.2.2024 4:09 PM
Gun Control The New York Times Implausibly Blames 'Looser' Gun Laws for a Homicide Spike That Is Now Receding Without providing any evidence, the paper says "loosened restrictions on firearms" contributed to gun violence in Columbus. Jacob Sullum | 5.20.2024 2:50 PM
Criminal Justice Daniel Perry's Pardon Makes a Mockery of Self-Defense Texas Gov. Greg Abbott takes a tactic from the progressive prosecutors he says he opposes. Billy Binion | 5.17.2024 4:59 PM
Second Amendment This Colorado Bill Would Abolish the Right to Armed Self-Defense in Many 'Sensitive Places' Legislators are taking a page from constitutionally dubious state laws that make carry permits highly impractical to use. Jacob Sullum | 3.25.2024 1:40 PM
Second Amendment Based on Loose Reasoning, a Federal Judge Rejects a Challenge to the Gun-Free School Zones Act The decision likens the federal law to Reconstruction era restrictions on firearms near polling places. Jacob Sullum | 2.7.2024 12:01 AM
Criminal Justice 'Someone Is Going To Die Today': Did Daniel Penny Act in Self-Defense? "I have encountered many things," one witness told the grand jury, "but nothing that put fear into me like that." Billy Binion | 1.19.2024 4:12 PM
Gun Rights War With Russia Teaches Ukraine To Value Private Guns Survey finds growing acceptance of civilian firearms among the country’s population. J.D. Tuccille | 1.12.2024 7:00 AM
Second Amendment How Magazine Bans Thwart Self-Defense Bans on standard magazines benefit criminals and endanger victims David Kopel |The Volokh Conspiracy | 12.20.2023 7:10 PM
Second Amendment Law Enforcement Officers Are Part of "the People," Not Above Them Law enforcement amicus brief against Colorado magazine ban. David Kopel |The Volokh Conspiracy | 12.11.2023 7:37 PM
Criminal Justice Prosecutors Agree He Shot a Man in Self-Defense. They're Still Trying To Put Him in Prison. LaShawn Craig may spend years behind bars—because the gun he used to justifiably shoot someone was unlicensed. Billy Binion | 12.8.2023 4:10 PM
Criminal Justice Marvin Guy, Who Shot a Cop During a No-Knock Raid, Is Found Guilty of Murder He is not the first defendant that has struggled to reconcile the controversial raids with self-defense. Billy Binion | 11.21.2023 5:00 PM
Criminal Justice He Allegedly Killed a Cop During a No-Knock Raid. Will the Jury Agree It Was Self-Defense? Almost 10 years after his arrest, Marvin Guy will soon learn if he'll spend the rest of his life in prison. Billy Binion | 11.7.2023 5:22 PM
Guns Defending Your Dog Against Family Member Can Lead to Family Violence Protective Order A Texas court holds that only self-defense—not defense of property—is excluded from such orders (which can also temporarily strip defendant of Second Amendment rights). And the same logic applies to force, even nonlethal force, used to defend your family members against another family member as well. Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 10.13.2023 12:31 PM
Second Amendment New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's Unconstitutional Gun Edict Was a Huge, Bipartisan Flop The governor's attempt to rule by decree provoked widespread condemnation instead of the applause she was expecting. Jacob Sullum | 9.20.2023 2:30 PM
Second Amendment New Mexico's Governor Suspends the Right To Bear Arms, Saying the Second Amendment Is Not 'Absolute' Local police officials are leery of enforcing Michelle Lujan Grisham's ban on public carry, which gun rights groups have challenged in federal court. Jacob Sullum | 9.10.2023 3:30 PM
Guns Can Florida Homeowners Shoot Looters Who Break Into Their Houses (as Ron DeSantis Mentioned) or Businesses? "I've seen signs in different people's yards in the past after these disasters, ... 'You loot, we shoot.' ... You never know what's behind that door." Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 8.30.2023 7:45 PM
Gun Rights Polls Offer Little Comfort for Supporters of Gun Control Americans support tighter laws, but not as much as they distrust government and like owning guns. J.D. Tuccille | 8.30.2023 7:00 AM
Self-Defense "Busting the Durable Myth that US Self-Defense Law Uniquely Fails to Protect Human Life" Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.19.2023 8:57 AM
Guns The Ranks of Gun Owners Grow, and So Does Their Resistance to Scrutiny Researchers report that many gun owners, especially newer ones, falsely deny owning guns. J.D. Tuccille | 7.5.2023 7:00 AM
Criminal Justice He's Facing Life in Prison for Owning Firearms Without a License The government appears to agree that Charles Foehner shot a man in self-defense. He may spend decades behind bars anyway. Billy Binion | 6.20.2023 4:16 PM
Second Amendment The Biden Administration Still Insists That Cannabis Consumers Have No Right to Arms As pot prohibition collapses across the country, that policy is increasingly untenable. Jacob Sullum | 6.7.2023 12:01 AM
Guns Loading and Openly Carrying Gun in Own Yard Isn't Criminal Use of Deadly Force Under Florida Law "[O]ne [tree-cutting] crew member made sexually suggestive gestures towards his fiancée and another waved a running chainsaw towards his dogs with the apparent threat to dismember them ...." Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 5.24.2023 5:44 PM
Second Amendment New Jersey's Restrictions on Public Gun Possession Are 'Plainly Unconstitutional,' a Federal Judge Says The state defied a Supreme Court ruling by banning guns from myriad "sensitive places." Jacob Sullum | 5.17.2023 2:15 PM
Second Amendment Texas House Overwhelmingly Approves Restrictions on No-Knock Warrants Conservatives who support the bill recognize the conflict between unannounced home invasions and the Second Amendment. Jacob Sullum | 5.8.2023 4:05 PM
Guns "Petitioner's Second Amendment Rights Are Not Dependent on Her Spouse's Acquisition … of an unrestricted concealed carry pistol permit," says N.Y. appellate court. Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 4.29.2023 12:36 PM
Criminal Justice Greg Abbott's Pardon Promise Ignores the Shakiness of Daniel Perry's Self-Defense Claim A Texas jury unanimously rejected Perry’s assertion that Garrett Foster pointed a rifle at him. Jacob Sullum | 4.26.2023 12:01 AM
Self-Defense 'Stand Your Ground' Laws Are Back in the News, but It's Not Clear Why The duty to retreat from public confrontations has nothing to do with the cases cited in recent stories about seemingly unjustified shootings. Jacob Sullum | 4.25.2023 6:55 PM
Self-Defense T. Markus Funk on Self-Defense Law Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 4.25.2023 10:10 AM
Self-Defense When Can Defendant Pleading Self-Defense Introduce Evidence of Alleged Attacker's Past Violent Acts? Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 3.16.2023 6:47 PM
