"Most states in the first half of the nineteenth century and beyond allowed open or concealed carry, and all states allowed open carry. The passage of prohibitions in a minority of states on carrying concealed weapons and the decisions thereon upholding open carry again proves that there was no recognized common law offense simply of going armed without more. It would have been unnecessary to restrict concealed carry if both concealed and open carry were already crimes under the common law. Moreover, other than the above Indiana decision [SEE CHAPTER 6], there were no decisions on the right to bear arms from courts in the North because, other than Indiana and Ohio, none of the Northern states had restrictions on the peaceable carrying of arms, concealed or openly.

"In sum, every citizen in every state could carry a firearm in public. In a minority of states, open carry was required. In most states, one could carry either openly or concealed. The right peaceably to bear arms was the rule and there were no complete prohibitions."

From Halbrook, The Right to Bear Arms: A Constitutional Right of the People or a Privilege of the Ruling Class?, p. 225 (hardback edition).

Painting: William Sidney Mount`s 1848 painting "At the Well" depicts the artist himself at a wayside well with a long rifle beside him.
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#therighttobeararmshalbrook #rightofthepeople #opencarry #concealedcarry #firearmslaws ...

"Liberty is always freedom from the government." Ludwig von Mises, Liberty and Property, p. 19.

Born on this day in 1881, Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises was an economist and social philosopher who wrote and lectured throughout the 20th century. A native of Lemberg, Austria-Hungary (now Lviv, Ukraine), he became one of the leading figures of the Austrian School of economics. His writings on liberty, private property, free markets, and the role of government continue to be widely read and debated today.
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#LudwigvonMises #vonmises #IndividualLiberty #ClassicalLiberalism #bornonthisdate ...

A successful hunt calls for a proud display. These women pose with their shotguns and the results of their bird hunt.    

Photo: circa 1900
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#womenhunters #vintagegunphoto #huntingwithshotguns #birdhunters #huntingisfun ...

John Jay and Alexander Hamilton "argued in The Federalist No. 29 that military establishments would not be a danger where `a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms,` were ready to defend their rights."  On this date in 1789, John Jay was officially nominated by George Washington to the position of Supreme Court Chief Justice.  The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Jay two days later, on September 26.

Quote from Halbrook, The Founders` Second Amendment, p. 235.  

#johnjay #chiefjusticejohnjay #supremecourtchiefjustice #supremecourthistory #onthisdayinhistory ...

"Designed by Benjamin Henry in 1860, the Henry rifle was a lever-action that held sixteen, .44 caliber cartridges in a tubular magazine. Working the lever would eject a fired case and load a new round in the chamber. The Henry design formed the basis of the iconic Winchester rifles that followed, such as the Model 1873, `The Gun That Won the West.`"

From Halbrook, America`s Rifle: The Case for the AR-15, p. 135 (photo and caption).

Photos: (top) Union soldier with 1860 Henry Repeating Rifle; (bottom) from America`s Rifle, p. 135.
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#leveraction #Henryrifle #HenryLeverActionRifle #44caliber #AmericasRifleTheCaseForTheAR15 ...

Today is the first day of fall here in the United States. This season means more than just changing leaves. For generations of American hunters, fall has meant heading into the woods as hunting seasons opened.

Regulations governing deer hunting date back nearly four centuries. In 1646, Portsmouth, Rhode Island, prohibited the killing of deer from May 1 through November 1. Other colonies soon enacted similar restrictions as deer populations declined.

"English journalist William Cobbett, who came to the United States in 1792, wrote: `As to game-laws, there are none, except those which appoint the times for killing. People go where they like, and, as to wild animals, shoot what they like.`"

By the 18th century, laws regulating when deer could be hunted had become an established part of efforts to protect America`s game populations.

Cobbett quote from Halbrook, The Founders` Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms, pgs. 187-88.
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#firstdayofautumn #deerhuntingseason #timetogohunting #huntingtradition #thefounderssecondamendment ...

On the morning of September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. In Switzerland, a telegram quickly went out announcing the mobilization of the entire Swiss armed forces. On October 4, just two days before Poland fell to Germany, General Henri Guisan, commander-in-chief of the Swiss Army, issued Operations Order No. 2:

" ` At the border and between the border and army position, the border troops and advance guard persistently delay the advance of the enemy. The garrisons at the border and between the border and the works and positions making up the defensive front continue resistance up to the last cartridge, even if they find themselves completely alone.`

"The order also provided that obstacles of all types and destruction of bridges would slow down the advance of the aggressor.

"This astonishing order--that the Swiss militiaman must fire every cartridge and, implicitly, fight to the death without surrender--was in sharp contrast to the policies of other European countries, which surrendered to Hitler either with a command that their troops not resist, or after a short fight."

From Halbrook, Target Switzerland: Swiss Armed Neutrality in World War II, pgs. 78, 81.

Photo: "Soldiers and civilians read a poster announcing the mobilisation." [www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-politics/mobilised/288]
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#generalguisan #Switzerlandhistory #armedneutrality #ww2history #targetswitzerland ...

"On September 14, the Fifth Circuit granted rehearing en banc in United States v. Cordova, a Second Amendment challenge to the lifetime felon gun ban, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). That follows the July 20 en banc rehearing grant in United States v. Squire, a challenge to the same prohibition under the Commerce Clause. These cases test whether Congress had the power in the first place, and even if so, is it prohibited from doing so?

"As I posted previously, Squire posed `a novel question about whether the Second Amendment protects a convicted drug trafficker from being dispossessed of a firearm inside his home based on our Nation`s historical tradition of firearm regulation.`..."
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"Turning to the Cordova case, the per curiam opinion noted felony convictions for drug possession, which doesn`t necessarily count anymore, and for evading arrest with a motor vehicle....

"Judge James C. Ho set the tone for his concurrence by beginning: `The right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment is a fundamental civil right, comparable to other provisions of the Bill of Rights.` The felon gun ban `imposes a lifetime ban on the possession of a firearm. And it does so even if the person has never been sentenced to serve a single day in prison.` Cordova himself was not sentenced to serve a single day in prison...."

The above excerpts are from my Second Amendment Roundup blog post, "5th Circuit En Banc to Rehear Felon Gun Ban Cases" (9/17/26).
Read the post at reason.com/volokh or copy and paste: https://reason.com/volokh/2026/09/17/second-amendment-roundup-5th-circuit-en-banc-to-rehear-felon-gun-ban-cases/

Link can also be accessed through the home page of my website, stephenhalbrook.com
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#USvCordova #2ndamendmentchallenge #gunban #2ndamendmentcases #secondamendmentroundup ...