New: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, written testimony on "Red Flag Laws: Examining Guidelines for State Action." March 26, 2019.
Short articles
Campus Scary. Suppression of pro-Second Amendment speech on campus. America's 1st Freedom. May 2019.
District Court Permanently Enjoins California Magazine Confiscation Law. Reason, Volokh Conspiracy. Mar. 29, 2019.
The Lessons of Purim Are Still Relevant Today. Epoch Times. Mar. 21, 2019.
Red Flag bill guts due process, unnecessarily threatens police and public safety. Complete Colorado. Mar. 12, 2019.
Second Amendment Rights of Young People: Nineteenth Century Law and Twenty-first Century Cases. Reason, Volokh Conspiracy. Feb. 26, 2019.
Plenty of red flags in Colorado’s 'extreme risk' protection order bill. Complete Colorado. Feb. 19, 2019. With Joseph Greenlee.
The Racist Influence on Gun Control Laws. When Ida B. Wells urged blacks to use repeating rifles for defense against lynch mobs, gun control advocates invented a new type of gun licensing. Epoch Times. Feb. 5, 2019.
Mayhew, Liberty, and the Resistance to Tyranny. Epoch Times. Jan. 30, 2019.
Supreme Court's New Second Amendment Case: Opportunity to address nullification of the right to arms. Reason, Volokh Conspiracy. Jan. 22, 2019.
Textual analysis of HR8, bill to "To require a background check for every firearm sale." Bill about gun "sale" turns ordinary gun loans into felonies, bans handguns for young adults, and authorizes unlimited fees. Reason, Volokh Conspiracy. Jan. 9, 2019.
The Ever-Shifting Definition of "Assault Weapons." The phrase has been used to promote bans on almost every type of gun. Reason, Volokh Conspiracy. Jan. 2, 2019.
In the Media
Meet 13 key Colorado Capitol influencers. Colorado Politics. Apr. 28, 2019. by Joey Bunch.
What's Wrong With Licensing Gun Owners? Cory Booker's Plan Would Unjustly Deprive Peaceful Americans of the Fundamental Right to Armed Self-Defense. Creators Syndicate. May 8, 2019. by Jacob Sullum
Cory Booker's Microstamping Mandate Would Amount to a Ban on New Handgun Models. Reason. May 7, 2019. by Jacob Sullum.
Colorado Supreme Court To Decide Fate Of Ban On High-Capacity Magazines. Colorado Public Radio. Apr. 23, 2019. by Joella Baumann.
Today in history: Patriot colonists take up privately-owned firearms against British gun control. Conservative Review. Apr. 19, 2019. by Nate Madden.
You can't blame Columbine curse for a shotgun that may not have been legal after all. Colorado Independent. Apr. 17, 2019. by Mike Littwin.
Lindsey Graham Holds Another Senate Hearing for Gun Confiscation. Daily Caller. Apr. 2, 2019. by Mike Hammond.
How anti-gun states can already confiscate guns without trial. Conservative Review. Mar. 27, 2019. by Nate Madden.
Republican Senate holds gun control hearing as students commemorate 'March For Our Lives' anniversary. ABC News. Mar. 26, 2019.
Florida sheriff: Having 'red flag' law in place pre-Parkland 'absolutely' would have mattered. Washington Times. Mar. 26, 2019. by David Sherfinski.
"I cannot get her life back": Lawmakers hold rare gun control hearing to discuss "red flag" state laws. Mar. 26, 2019. CBS News. by Grace Segers & Camilo Montoya-Galvez.
Lawmakers discuss 'red flag' laws at gun control hearing. WCAX TV, Vermont. Mar. 26, 2019.
Can Congress Pass a Law Disarmng People in Crisis. Pacific Standard. Mar. 26, 2019. by Francie Diep.
GOP-Led Committee Examines Red-Flag Gun Laws. Courthouse News Service. Mar. 26, 2019. by Britain Eakin.
Colorado’s Dave Kopel to U.S. Senate committee: “Red Flag” laws must fully respect due process. Complete Colorado. Mar. 26, 2019. by Mike Krause.
Television, Radio, Podcasts
Colorado Insisde Out. May 3, 2019. Full episode. Sen. Bennett announces run for President. Last-days activity at Colorado legislature. Legislative session in review. Denver elections. New CU President Mark Kennedy.
Colorado Insisde Out. Apr. 19, 2019. Full episode. CU presidential finalist Mark Kennedy. School closures after pre-Columbine anniversary scare. Denver mayoral debate. Oil and gas industry destruction law enacted.
How Governments Seize Guns with "Red Flag Laws." Cato Institute Daily Podcast. Apr. 8, 2019.
Colorado Insisde Out. Mar. 29, 2019. Full episode. Gov. Polis unveils new state logo. State Senate passes gun confiscation bill. State Senate's funding for highways faces tough road in House. Denver City Council ends sales tax on feminine hygiene products, moves towards vaping for under 21s.
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Mar. 26, 2019. Hearing on mental health and gun legislation. Kopel starts at 31:36. Written testimony.
Peter Boyles Show. KNUS 710 AM radio. Red Flag Warnings. Feb. 27, 2019.
Dan Caplis Show. KHOW 630 AM radio. Problems with new Colorado "red flag" bill. Feb. 20, 2019.
Krista Kafer Show. KHOW 630 am radio. Dangerous and extreme "red flag" bill in Colorado. Feb. 19, 2019.
Latest Monographs & Journal articles
Federal Circuit Second Amendment Developments 2018. 7 Lincoln Memorial University Law Review (forthcoming 2019). With Joseph G.S. Greenlee.
History and Tradition in Modern Circuit Cases on the Second Amendment Rights of Young People. 43 Southern Illinois University Law Journal 119 (2018). With Joseph G.S. Greenlee.
Defining "Assault Weapons." The Regulatory Review (Univ. of Pennsylvania). Nov. 14, 2018.
Data Indicate Second Amendment Underenforcement. 68 Duke Law Journal Online 79 (2018). Problems in the Second, Fourth, and Ninth Circuits.
The Colorado Constitution's No Aid to Sectarian Institutions Clause and Its Impact on Civil Rights. Colorado Special Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Sept. 2018.
Federal Circuit Second Amendment Developments 2017-2018. Texas State Bar Association. Firearms Law Seminar. 2018. With Joseph Greenlee.
The Second Amendment Rights of Young Adults. 43 Southern Illinois University Law Journal (forthcoming 2019). With Joseph Greenlee.
The Right to Arms in Nineteenth Century Colorado. 95 Denver University Law Review 329 (2018).
In the Courts and Congress
Pena v. Horan. Cert. petition. No. 18-843. Feb. 1, 2019. Amicus brief for Second Amendment law professors, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Mountain States Legal Foundation, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, Independence Institute, and Millennial Policy Center. California's "microstamping" mandate creates a de facto ban on all new models of semiautomatic pistols. The Ninth Circuit opinion uphold the ban was based on speculation and refusal to consider the plaintiffs' evidence.
Mance v. Whitaker. Cert. petition. No. 18-663. Dec. 20, 2022. Amicus brief for Second Amendment law professors, Independence Institute, and Millennial Policy Center. Challenge to federal ban on interstate handgun sales between consenting states. Argues that Court should take the case to explicate the proper test for Second Amendment challenges, due to conflicts in the lower courts, and nullification of the Second Amendment in some courts.
Chiafalo v. Washington. No. 953-47-3. Dec. 5, 2018. Washington Supreme Court. Amicus brief of Independence Institute. Based on original public meaning of Article II and the Twelfth Amendment, presidential electors are free to vote their conscience, and cannot be constrained by state law.
Maryland Shall Issue v. Hogan. No. 16-cv-3311-ELH (D. Md. Oct. 5, 2018). Amicus brief of International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors, 11 law professors, Second Amendment Foundation, Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms, Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership, Millennial Policy Center, and Independence Institute. Maryland's burdensome handgun licensing system in contrary to original understanding, history, and tradition, and cannot pass heightened scrutiny.
Timbs v. Indiana. No. 17-1091. U.S. Sup. Ct. Sept. 11, 2018. Merits amicus brief. The Independence Institute joins a broad civil liberties coalition in an amicus brief led by the Drug Policy Alliance. The issue is whether the Eighth Amendment's Excessive Fines Clause should be incorporated against the States. The brief details modern abuses of forfeiture laws, and argues that no government can have a legitimate interest in imposing an "excessive" fine.
Worman v. Healey. Aug. 29, 2018. Amicus brief for 11 law professors specializing in the Second Amendment, the Second Amendment Foundation, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Jews for the Preservation Ownership, Independence Institute, and Millennial Policy Center. Massachusetts ban on common firearms and standard magazines violates Supreme Court precedent. Such arms have been traditional American arms since the 19th century. Cato Institute summary.
Young v. Hawaii. Ninth Circuit. July 23, 2018. State may not limit carry permits only to security guards. Cites Kopel article on natural right of self-defense.
Colorado Department of Labor v. Dami Hospitality. Colorado Supreme Court. July 2, 2018. Amicus brief argues that the Eighth Amendment's rule "nor excessive fines imposed" does not have a loophole allowing excessive fines to be imposed on corporations.
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Dec. 6, 2017. Written testimony on: Bill to ban bump stocks and some gunsmithing. S 1916; Fix NICS Act, S. 2135; Bill to allow indefinite delays in background checks, S. 1923; interstate carry reciprocity, S. 446. Video of testimony (Kopel starts at 2:31:28). Written responses to Questions for the Record for Sen. Grassley. |