U.S. Constitution News
The Daily Signal provides reporting and analysis on the U.S. Constitution, including court rulings, separation of powers, and the defense of individual rights.
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To Keep Students Safe, This School Allows Teachers to Carry Guns
When Charles McMahan agreed to talk with The Daily Signal about his program enabling trained teachers and other staff to carry guns in school, the Oklahoma school superintendent knew he’d be falling on the politically incorrect end of a sensitive conversation. But as the educator who oversees more than 500 prekindergarten through 12th-grade students in…Kelsey Bolar -
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How the Nation’s Governors Are Reacting to Trump’s Proposals on Guns, School Safety
Governors across the country have differing views on allowing certain teachers to carry firearms, which is among the policies President Donald Trump has proposed. “It is easy to kill people in a school because it is a gun-free zone,” @GovMattBevin says. Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said the larger problem is that the culture is “increasingly…Fred Lucas -
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Rubio Backs ‘Gun Violence Restraining Orders,’ Other Measures to Boost School Safety
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., rolled out a series of gun proposals Thursday, one day after joining a group of lawmakers who met with President Donald Trump at the White House. The proposals included allowing people to seek “gun violence restraining orders” in courts and make it easier for schools to alert law enforcement about problems….Fred Lucas -
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Repealing Gun-Free School Zones Act Would Make Schools Safer, Kentucky Lawmaker Says
Schools would be better protected from mass shootings if federal legislation enacted in 1990 that bans guns from school zones is repealed, a Kentucky congressman says. “I have used the statistic on ‘Meet the Press’ Sunday that 98 percent of mass public shootings happen in gun-free zones, and I believe that we should put our…Rachel del Guidice -
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Why This Columbine Survivor Wants to End Gun-Free Zones
As school safety discussions ramp up across the nation, a state legislator who is a survivor of the Columbine massacre is proposing legislation that would end gun-free zones. Leading the charge is Colorado House Minority Leader Patrick Neville, who was a student at the high school in Columbine, Colorado, at the time of the 1999…Ginny Montalbano -
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Podcast: Columbine Survivor Shares His Take on Gun Control
Patrick Neville, a Colorado state legislator, spoke to The Daily Signal’s Ginny Montalbano about why he thinks it’s problematic to have schools be gun-free zones. Montalbano shares that interview with us. Plus: we look at former President Barack Obama’s latest claim about the scandals in his tenure, and the first transgender recruit joins the military….Katrina Trinko -
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3 Supreme Court Cases to Watch in the Fight for Free Speech
Supporters of free speech should pay attention to three cases before the Supreme Court, lawyers said at a recent Heritage Foundation event. Provisions of local, state, and even federal law threaten to impose politically correct and leftist views on Americans, infringing on their First Amendment rights, the speakers said. The Heritage event featured Jacob Huebert,…Chrissy Clark -
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CNN’s Alisyn Camerota Duels With CPAC Chair Matt Schlapp on Gun Control
CNN host Alisyn Camerota challenged conservative commentator Matt Schlapp to a debate on gun control Friday, little more than a week after the high school massacre in Parkland, Florida, asking whether Schlapp thinks critics of the Second Amendment hate freedom. “No. I actually think there’s a lot of people, including these victims’ families, who their…Nick Givas -
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Gov. Rick Scott Wants Florida to Prohibit Anyone Under 21 From Buying a Gun
Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced plans Friday to raise the age for purchasing a firearm in his state to 21, but provide exceptions for the military and law enforcement. “We will require all individuals punishing firearms to be 21 or older,” Scott said during extensive remarks at a press conference. “There’ll be exceptions for active-duty…Nick Givas -
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Campus Activists Take on a Generational Battle for Free Speech
The battle for Western civilization is taking place on the campuses of American universities and high schools, activists argued Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Five conservatives spoke out against liberal bias on college campuses on a panel that, in a reference to North Korea’s communist dictator, was titled “Kim Jung Un-iveristy.” “Somehow liberals…Chrissy Clark -
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Do Not Let Children Lead the Gun Debate
Where are all the grown-ups in times of crisis and grief? Don’t bother searching America’s prestigious law schools. Two adult men, occupying lofty perches as law professors, argued this week that the voting age in the U.S. should be lowered to 16 because some high school survivors of the Parkland, Florida, shooting who want gun…Michelle Malkin -
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Fact Check: Are Most Gun Crimes Committed With Handguns?
Sen. James Lankford said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that at least three times as many crimes are committed with handguns than with rifles. Verdict: True Handguns are used in about nine times as many murders and eight times as many nonfatal violent crimes than rifles, shotguns, and other firearms combined. Fact Check: Lankford, R-Okla., pointed…Emily Larsen -
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To Combat Gun Violence, Confront Mental Illness
The reality is that if we knew what leads to mass shootings at high schools, the problem would already have been resolved—sadly, we don’t. We need to address all of the factors that contribute to these circumstances, methodically and as part of a systemic approach, not as a series of bullet-point solutions. Are guns to…Armstrong Williams -
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How to Protect Free Speech on Campus? Override the Heckler’s Veto.
The irony and hypocrisy are obviously lost on self-styled “anti-fascists” who loudly—and, more often than not, violently—shut down, in fascist fashion, the free speech of others on college campuses. Or maybe they are in fact aware of the hypocrisy and just don’t care about the bad PR optics, because they are so self-righteously convinced of…Peter Parisi -
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6 Common Media Myths About Gun Control
The latest mass shooting, this time at a Florida high school, was one of the deadliest school shootings since the Columbine massacre in 1999. So far, there have been 17 confirmed deaths in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and the alleged shooter is in custody. Americans are understandably searching…Jarrett Stepman -
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Sen. Marco Rubio Explains Why More Gun Laws Won’t ‘Stop This From Happening’
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., spoke Thursday about the shooting that left 17 dead and 14 wounded at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Above is video of a portion of Rubio’s remarks and below is a transcript. And so, hence the challenge for why it’s so hard to find something that works. And there are…Daily Signal Staff -
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Campus Free Speech Zones Are on the Way Out, and That’s Good News
Inside Higher Ed last week ran an obituary for an idea that was doomed from the start: free speech zones on college campuses. Those zones are often small, hard-to-find areas of campus, and school officials restrict individuals from handing out flyers or demonstrating outside of those areas. The Inside Higher Ed obit says Los Angeles’ Pierce…Jonathan Butcher -
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Europe’s War on Free Speech
Any American who ever questions whether the First Amendment is vital to protect free speech should just cast a glance across the Atlantic. Europeans share the same values we do—indeed, our concept of rights derives from European philosophers—and yet they often adopt misguided laws that circumscribe freedom of expression. The latest blunder comes courtesy of…Mike Gonzalez -
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Problematic Women: Should Gun Rights Be Included in #MeToo?
Facebook and Google create a new dating policy, men say they’re now uncomfortable interacting with women in the workplace, and conservative women say #TimesUp is getting political by hiring Anita Hill. Has the #MeToo movement gone too far? We discuss in this week’s edition of “Problematic Women,” co-hosted with Bre Payton of The Federalist. We…Kelsey Bolar -
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The Gun Industry’s Surprising Take on the Trump Administration
After eight years of President Barack Obama, you’d think that firearms owners—and the entire firearms industry—would be dancing with joy at the presidency of Donald Trump. Certainly, it was great to hear the president speak up for the Second Amendment in his State of the Union address. But as I learned at this year’s SHOT—Shooting,…Ted Bromund