Amy Swearer is a senior legal fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies.
View all authorsSocietyCommentary
As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the country, millions of Americans now live in states where shutdown orders effectively have stripped them of the ability… Read More
SocietyCommentary
With the COVID-19 pandemic causing serious interruptions to the daily lives of people across the country, many American are acutely aware of how certain civil… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Too many lawmakers today cannot fathom a world where “keeping Americans safe from violence” means anything other than imposing stringent gun control measures. That makes… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Earlier this month, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was asked how he justified his push for more stringent gun control when he is… Read More
SocietyCommentary
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, recently signed controversial legislation that created the state’s first red flag law to take firearms from potentially… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Many lawmakers around the country welcomed in the new year by pursuing legislation that would severely curtail the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and… Read More
SocietyCommentary
On Jan. 20, as Americans remembered civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr., an estimated 10,000 people peacefully rallied in Richmond, Virginia, to protest the… Read More
SocietyCommentary
As we enter 2020, lawmakers in several states are gearing up for high-profile fights over gun control legislation that could severely limit the Second Amendment… Read More
LawCommentary
At a time when some gun control advocates appear intent on painting lawful gun ownership as a danger to society, and the Second Amendment as… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Far too often, those who disagree with supporters of the Second Amendment about firearm-related policies resort to assertions that we simply care more about our… Read More
SocietyCommentary
The Violence Policy Center—a gun control advocacy group—released a study last month it wrongly claims shows that “too many concealed-carry permit holders are a direct… Read More
SocietyCommentary
California long has been known as a place where leaders have little regard for the Second Amendment. But the state has outdone itself in recent… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Over the last several days, many journalists and commentators have reported on the tragic death of Atatiana Jefferson, a Fort Worth, Texas, pre-med student who… Read More
SocietyCommentary
When the Virginia State Crime Commission and the House Judiciary Committee held hearings earlier this fall regarding firearm policies, it was striking how little many… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Recent polls show most Americans support the basic premise of disarming dangerous people through the use of so-called red flag laws. This instinct is a… Read More
SocietyCommentary
It seems as though every day another celebrity or politician demands that we place more severe restrictions on the ability of law-abiding citizens to exercise… Read More
LawAnalysis
The national gun control conversation often sounds like a broken record, with the same advocates resorting to the same talking points about decades-old proposals, such… Read More
SocietyCommentary
My colleague John Malcolm and I joined 243 other Americans featured on the cover of Time magazine last year for a project dedicated to exploring… Read More
SocietyCommentary
In the wake of tragic mass shootings, such as those occurring in recent days in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, it’s understandable that the… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Owning property means more than having your name on a deed. Lawyers and judges often refer to property ownership as a “bundle of rights,” because… Read More
SocietyCommentary
At a time when many high-profile politicians are comfortable proposing laws that impose serious burdens on the right to keep and bear arms, including the… Read More
LawCommentary
All too often, advocates of strict gun control promise that more complex and convoluted laws will save lives without imposing a serious burden on the… Read More
LawCommentary
Contrary to the rhetoric of many gun control advocates, the Second Amendment’s protection of the individual right to keep and bear arms is not a… Read More
SocietyCommentary
In the wake of the tragic shooting in Virginia Beach, Virginia, that claimed the lives of 12 people, Gov. Ralph Northam has called for a… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Who is a United States citizen by birth? This question has increasingly received national attention, in large part because of President Donald Trump’s promise to… Read More
SocietyCommentary
The right to keep and bear arms is based on the natural, immutable right to defend oneself and one’s liberties from crime and tyranny. Unfortunately,… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., released his plan Tuesday to combat firearm-related violence. For starters, most of it would violate the Constitution. Booker’s 14-point plan includes… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, this month signed into law a bill allowing a person to be temporarily disarmed if a court finds that… Read More
LawCommentary
Gun control advocates long have controlled the narrative about defensive uses of firearms, calling the “good guy with a gun” scenario a “myth meant to scare… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Last month, we documented some extraordinary examples from January of armed citizens relying on their Second Amendment rights to protect themselves and others. We pointed… Read More
