Legal Links


[ Home ] [ Main Links ]

Second Amendment Law Review Articles

  • Comprehensive Bibliography Of The Second Amendment In Law Reviews, David B. Kopel
  • The Supreme Court’s Thirty-five Other Gun Cases: What the Supreme Court Has Said about the Second Amendment,
         David B. Kopel, Adjunct Professor of Law, New York University School of Law; also here
  • State Preemption Cases by Robert Woolley
  • Constitutional Amendments

  • First
         On "shouting fire in a crowded theater"
  • Second with too many commas (e.g. compare single
          comma version in Presser v. Illinois or as voted by
          Congress or as in § 1889 of COMMENTARIES ON THE
          CONSTITUTION
    , JOSEPH STORY, 1833.)

          MCDONALD v. CHICAGO 561 U.S. (2010), 6/28/2010
           Held:
            JUSTICE ALITO delivered the opinion of the Court . . .
            concluding that the Fourteenth Amendment
            incorporates the Second Amendment right,
            recognized in Heller, to keep and bear arms for the
            purpose of self-defense.
            . . .
            (d) The Fourteenth Amendment makes the Second
            Amendment right to keep and bear arms fully
            applicable to the States.
            . . .
            Self-defense is a basic right, recognized by many
            legal systems from ancient times to the present, and
            the Heller Court held that individual self-defense is
            “the central component” of the Second Amendment
            right.

          DC v. Heller. 554 U.S. (2008), 6/26/2008
           Held:
            1. The Second Amendment protects an individual
            right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in
            a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful
            purposes, such as self-defense within the home.
            (a) The Amendment’s prefatory clause announces a
            purpose, but does not limit or expand the scope of
            the second part, the operative clause. The operative
            clause’s text and history demonstrate that it
            connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms.

           Presser v. Illinois, 116 U.S. 252, 265 (1886)
           The Court stated that even setting aside the Second
           Amendment, "the states cannot prohibit the people
           from keeping and bearing arms so as to deprive the
           United States of their rightful resource for maintain-
           ing the public security, and disable the people from
           performing their duty to the general government."

           ROBERTSON v. BALDWIN, 165 U.S. 275 (1897)
           The law is perfectly well settled that the first 10
           amendments to the constitution, commonly known
           as the 'Bill of Rights,' were not intended to lay down
           any novel principles of government, but simply to
           embody certain guaranties and immunities which
           we had inherited from our English ancestors, and
           which had, from time immemorial, been subject to
           certain well-recognized exceptions, arising from
           the necessities of the case. In incorporating these
           principles into the fundamental law, there was no
           intention of disregarding the exceptions, which
           continued to be recognized as if they had been
           formally expressed. Thus, the freedom of speech
           and of the press (article 1) does not permit the
           publication of libels, blasphemous or indecent
           articles, or other publications injurious to public
           morals or private reputation; the right of the people
           [165 U.S. 275, 282] to keep and bear arms (article 2)
           is not infringed by laws prohibiting the carrying
           of concealed weapons; .  .  .  . 

           HAYNES v. UNITED STATES, 390 U.S. 85 (1968)
           The Court ruled that a convicted felon (now likely
           any disqualified person) is exempt from obeying
           gun registration laws, saying "  .  .  .  a proper
           claim of the constitutional privilege against self-
           incrimination provides a full defense to prosecutions
           either for failure to register a firearm  .  .  .  or for
           possession of an unregistered firearm  .  .  .  .

           LEWIS v. UNITED STATES, 445 U.S. 55 (1980)
           The Court quotes legislative intent as "  .  .  .  under
           Title VII, every citizen could possess a gun until
           the commission of his first felony."
  • Fourth
  • Fifth
  • Sixth
  • Eighth
  • Ninth
  • Tenth
  • Fourteenth
  • US and Maryland Legal Sources

  • Continental Congress, Constitutional Convention, and
         1st-42nd Congresses: 1774-1873
  • Maryland Constitution of 1776
  • Maryland Constitution (Current)
  • Maryland State Law Library
  • Maryland State Bar Association Legal Links
  • MD Attn Genn Opinion 96-028 on Militia
  • United States Code
             Selected Federal Gun Offenses Cheat Sheet
  • FindLaw
  • Guide to Legal History Resources on the Web
  • A Chronology of US Historical Documents
  • LawGuru.com
  • Links to Maryland Code
  • Maryland Code from Michie
  • The Legal Information Institute -- Constitutional Law
             "Law About" Topics
  • USC links to General Law Reviews
  • Maryland State Bar Association
  • Gun Law Sources

  • LAWS DESIGNED TO DISARM SLAVES,
         FREEDMEN, AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS
  • Firearms litigation resources
  • NFA and other gun law related info and cases
             Various Gun Court Cases (a-t)
             Various Gun Court Cases (u-z)
             State of Oregon v. Kessler
             State of Oregon v. Delgado
             Aymette v. State
             Supreme Court Gun Cases
                     Miller Case Legal Filings
  • Do You Have A Right to Police Protection?
  • Gun Control and Gun Rights    Reference links
         from Dave Kopel's 1998 NYU Law Course
  • Dave Kopel's Articles
  • Stephen P. Halbrook
  • Eugene Volokh
  • California DOJ Firearms Division


  • Last Updated on 7/21/10
    By Phil Lee email maryland_alert (at) Yahoo (dot) com