The Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear “Arms”–not solely “firearms.” While firearms have always been the paradigmatic Second Amendment arm, there are many other types of arms which are protected by the Second Amendment. By far the most common of the other arms are knives. Now at the printer is the first […]
Archive | Non-Firearms Arms
Ancient Hebrew Militia Law
That’s the title of a short article by me, just published in the Denver University Law Review Online. The militia politics of ancient Israel are covered in an article I wrote several years ago for Liberty magazine: ” To Your Tents, O Israel!” Both articles discuss the influence of the Israel’s history on the American Founders.
Knives and the Second Amendment
By David Kopel on March 25, 2013 12:43 pm in Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Defense of Property, Non-Firearms Arms, Self-Defense
That’s the title of my forthcoming article in the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform. My co-authors are Clayton Cramer and Joe Olson. The abstract: This Article is the first scholarly analysis of knives and the Second Amendment. Knives are clearly among the “arms” which are protected by the Second Amendment. Under the Supreme […]
Switchblades
A puzzle, which I just learned about (see Clayton Cramer & Joseph Olson, Knives and the Second Amendment): Federal law generally bans the manufacture for interstate commerce and transportation and distribution in interstate commerce of switchblade knives, as well as possession of switchblades on federal territory. It exempts, however, common carriers, the military, and military […]
Michigan Court of Appeals Strikes Down Stun Gun Ban, Says Second Amendment Applies to Open Carry in Public
People v. Yanna (Mich. Ct. App. June 26, 2012) holds that Michigan’s stun gun ban violates the Second Amendment. I filed an amicus brief on behalf of AWARE (Arming Women Against Rape & Endangerment) in this case, and also wrote a law review article on the subject (Nonlethal Self-Defense, (Almost Entirely) Nonlethal Weapons, and the […]
Right to Keep and Bear Arms Includes Knives
In Delaware, carrying any knife — including a kitchen knife or a paring knife or anything other than a closed folding knife with a blade of 3 inches or shorter — concealed is a felony, even in your home, unless you have a concealed weapons license. 11 Del. Code § 1442 provides, A person is […]
Weapons Laws of the Russian Federation
By David Kopel on June 12, 2012 4:05 pm in Guns, International Human Rights Law, Non-Firearms Arms, Registration, Right to carry, Russia, Uncategorized
For those of who have been waiting for an English translation of Russia’s arms statutes, your wait is over. Independence Institute intern Margot van Loon is the author of the new Issue Paper, Weapons Laws of the Russian Federation. Here is a synopsis: No permission or registration is needed to purchase and carry chemical defense […]
New textbook: Firearms Law and the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights and Policy
By David Kopel on May 15, 2012 4:32 pm in Casebooks, Guns, McDonald v. City of Chicago, Militia, Non-Firearms Arms, Registration, Right to carry
The first law school textbook on the Second Amendment is now available from Aspen Publishers. The co-author are Nick Johnson (Fordham), Michael O’Shea (Oklahoma City), George Mocsary (Connecticut), and me. Here’s the publisher’s page for the textbook, from which professors can request a free review copy. The book is also available for civilian purchase from […]
Michigan Case Holding That Second Amendment Protects Stun Guns
Here’s the opinion in People v. Yanna (Mich. Cir. Ct. Apr. 21, 2011), the Michigan case that David Kopel mentioned. The court’s ruling was based solely on the Second Amendment, and not on the Michigan right to bear arms provision, likely because People v. Smelter, 437 N.W.2d 341 (Mich. App. 1989), held that the Michigan […]
Stun gun prohibition violates Second Amendment
So rules a state judge in Bay City, Michigan. According to the ruling, the regulation of stun guns would be constitutional, but not their prohibition. Other than Michigan, the only states that prohibit stun guns are New Jersey and Rhode Island. Eugene Volokh’s Stanford Law Review article, Nonlethal Self-Defense examines the Second Amendment issues involving […]
Air Guns Not “Arms” for Second Amendment Purposes
So holds People v. Nivar, 2011 WL 148743 (N.Y. Sup. Ct.) (a one-judge trial court decision): Defendant also argues that New York City’s ban on the possession of air pistols, AC § 10-131(b), violates the Second Amendment…. This Court begins, as Heller did, with the meaning of the word “arms” and of the phrase “bear […]
California Trial Court Holds Second Amendment Protects Nunchakus
So reports Alice Marie Beard — apparently the judge (in Placer County) just ruled from the bench, with no written opinion. California law generally totally bans all possession of nunchakus, except “on the premises of a school which holds a regulatory or business license and teaches the arts of self-defense.” I assume the state will […]
Huge win for Knife Rights
An e-mail from KnifeRights.com reports that the “Senate has passed the conference report for the fiscal year 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill with our amendment to the Federal Switchblade Act intact.” The bill now goes to President Obama for his expected signature. The bill makes technical changes in the definitions of the Federal Switchblade Act. In […]