When it passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) in 2005, Congress viewed the prospect of at least some forms of civil liability as a threat to the rights secured by the Second Amendment. In treating the right to keep and bear arms as one enjoyed by individuals and that would operate […]
In recent years, some two dozen states have enacted laws requiring private property owners to allow employees, customers, and others to bring in guns or store them on their land and buildings. Variously known as “parking-lot laws” and “gun-at-work” laws, such regulations are a serious violation of property rights. In many cases, they may also […]
In its order list this morning, the Supreme Court denied cert in two pending firearms law cases—Marshall and Rodrigues. Neither were much of a surprise, but readers of this blog will remember that Marshall was a huge decision when the 4th Circuit struck down the federal law barring handgun purchases from federally licensed gun dealers […]
On March 18th, the Center hosted a conference at the law school on Privatizing the Gun Debate. We were grateful to be joined by a dozen scholars, practitioners, and public officials to discuss the ways that firearms are increasingly being regulated outside legislative channels through actions like tort lawsuits and business policies. The keynote address was deliver […]
On his Legal Theory blog, Larry Solum recently highly recommend a piece by Frederick Schauer & Barbara A. Spellman, Precedent and Similarity, forthcoming in T. Endicott, H. Kristjansson & S. Lewis (eds), Philosophical Foundations of Precedent (Oxford University Press). The piece describes a problem endemic in legal reasoning—the difficulty of establishing just what makes one […]
No new cert petitions this week, but the list of pending cases has grown. Aposhian was recently (and, to me, inexplicably) rescheduled for its ninth conference. Two cases that I think have a fairly low chance of cert grant are heading to conference this Friday (Marshall and Rodrigues) and briefly continues in several others. Petitions […]
Here are a few new articles posted on SSRN in the last few weeks that draw connections between existing legal doctrine and the cultural and statutory changes in gun rights. Tyler Smotherman, Troubleshooting the Gun-Free School Zones Act: A Call for Amendment in the Age of Constitutional Carry When Texas became the most recent state […]
One new petition this week: Cassidy v. Massachusetts, a pro se challenge to convictions for possessing firearms in the home without a permit. Petitions Pending Case Ct. Below Pet. Filed Implicated Law/Issue Status New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (20-843) 2d Cir. 17-Dec-20 Challenge to New York’s good cause public carry regime […]
Last Thursday, the Third Circuit partially vindicated Smith & Wesson in its ongoing battle with the New Jersey Attorney General. In Smith & Wesson v. Attorney General of New Jersey, the panel reversed the district court’s dismissal of Smith & Wesson’s lawsuit against the NJAG, which arises out of the AG’s administrative subpoena for business […]
This week, I added two new petitions. The first is new to the list but not a this-week update: Rodrigues v. County of Hawaii was filed in December, but the corrected petition was just uploaded on March 10, so it didn’t get on my radar sooner. It concerns (at least in the petitioner’s telling) how […]