The National Firearms Act rests solely on Congress’s taxing power, not a power to ban firearms, and short-barreled rifles and silencers—mistakenly included in 1934—should be removed from the Act because they are in common use and rarely used in crime.

The National Firearms Act rests solely on Congress’s taxing power, not a power to ban firearms, and short-barreled rifles and silencers—mistakenly included in 1934—should be removed from the Act because they are in common use and rarely used in crime.

In the case of VanDerStok v. Garland, the Supreme Court is set to review the ATF’s authority to expand the definition of “firearm” under the Gun Control Act of 1968, questioning whether regulations that include “weapon parts kits” and “nonfunctional frames” unlawfully exceed the statutory limits and expand criminal liability under a broader interpretation of “firearm.”

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen applies a text-and-history approach that provides a more objective and manageable framework for Second Amendment cases than the means-ends scrutiny criticized by Professor Nelson Lund.

Virginia’s Second Amendment sanctuaries represent a local pushback against state-level firearm restrictions, highlighting the ongoing tension between state authority and local law enforcement’s role in upholding constitutional rights.

The historical and legal context surrounding the right to bear arms is explored, focusing on its recognition in early American law, its suppression through post-Civil War Black Codes, and the impact of the Fourteenth Amendment in ensuring the right’s protection, particularly in the face of modern challenges in “may issue” states.

The Second Amendment protects the individual right to bear arms outside the home, not just in the context of a militia, as shown through historical and legal analysis of the Founders’ intentions, early legal precedents, and modern court cases that continue to shape the interpretation of this fundamental right.

The Supreme Court’s handling of Second Amendment cases since Heller has raised questions about the scope of the right to keep and bear arms, with lower courts, dissenting opinions, and the ongoing New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of New York case highlighting the need for clearer constitutional guidelines.