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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Second Amendment a Blessing, Not a ‘Curse,’ in End-of-Year Examples of Defensive Gun Use
The editorial board of a major New Jersey newspaper started the year off with an anti-Second Amendment screed, decrying the right to keep and bear arms as a “curse” perpetuated by a “fanatical” interpretation created by the Supreme Court in 2008. Among other things, editors at the Newark-based Star-Ledger bemoaned that the Second Amendment keeps…Amy Swearer -
BOLD-FACED LIE: Gun Control Groups Twist Heritage Foundation Data Out of Recognition in Court Documents
A conglomerate of gun control groups has filed a brief in federal court supporting the District of Columbia in a lawsuit challenging the city’s prohibition on civilian possession of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds. This was not at all surprising. What was quite perplexing, however, was the gun control groups’ citation of…Amy Swearer -
Corporate Media Suddenly Concerned About Free Speech After Twitter Suspends Several Journalists
The corporate media is in hysterics because a few of their own were finally suspended on Twitter. Twitter reportedly banned the accounts for sharing information about the location of Twitter owner Elon Musk’s private jet. This comes just after Musk said a “crazy stalker” followed his car, which had his 2-year-old son inside, and jumped…Jarrett Stepman -
12 More Examples of Defensive Gun Use Show ‘Redeeming Social Value’ of Firearms
After mass public shootings in Colorado and Virginia last month, President Joe Biden appeared to call for a ban on all semiautomatic firearms. Biden told reporters: “The idea we still allow semiautomatic weapons to be purchased is sick. It’s just sick. It has no, no social redeeming value. Zero. None. Not a single, solitary rationale for it except…Amy Swearer -
Black Guns Matter
We know about Black Lives Matter. My new video is about a group called Black Guns Matter. Maj Toure, a Philadelphia high school dropout-turned-activist, tells me he started it after he got tired of hearing people endless chanting, “Black lives matter,” but saying nothing “when it’s time for black people to defend their lives.” Toure…John Stossel -
Black Homicide Rates Are Back at ’90s Levels. The Problem Isn’t the Guns.
The Left loves to talk about “disparate impact”—until it interferes with its narratives. A recently released study found that homicide rates for black men have shot back up to the extremely high levels of the early 1990s. If black lives truly matter, stemming the sudden explosion in violent crime where black men are primarily the…Jarrett Stepman -
Claims of Free Speech, Anti-Gay Discrimination Clash at Supreme Court in Website Designer’s Case
In an already packed Supreme Court term—one in which the justices will consider everything from racial preferences in the college-admissions process to President Joe Biden’s student-loan forgiveness plan—one case looms large: 303 Creative v. Elenis. In this high-profile controversy, the court has been asked to decide whether the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act—the state’s public accommodations nondiscrimination…Sarah Parshall Perry -
Supreme Court Hears Graphic Designer’s Case in Major Free Speech-Gay Rights Battle
The Supreme Court is weighing in on a free speech case that could affect millions of Americans. The high court heard oral arguments Monday for a case involving Colorado graphic designer Lorie Smith. Smith does not want to be forced to create custom wedding websites for same-sex weddings, but a Colorado public accommodations law would…Virginia Allen -
The Media vs. Free Speech on Twitter
Anyone who thinks the First Amendment is best represented by the “news” media isn’t paying attention to the way they wage war on freedom of speech for the conservative “rabble” on social media platforms. Imagine if the media had attacked new media owners Jeff Bezos or David Zaslav with the kind of venom that they’re…Tim Graham -
Win for Website Designer at Supreme Court Would Be Win for Free Speech for All
Imagine you’re an artist who creates custom websites. A new client asks you to create one that will promote a pro-life rally and celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Unbeknownst to the client, you disagree with the June 24 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision and in…Lathan Watts -
Biden’s Misplaced Emphasis on One Gun
We now know at least one of the priorities of the Biden administration during the remaining weeks Democrats control the House of Representatives. The president says he would try to “get rid of assault weapons.” Speaking to reporters at his Nantucket, Massachusetts, holiday house, President Joe Biden said: “The idea [that] we still allow semi-automatic…Cal Thomas -
Oregon Voters Narrowly OK Restrictive Gun Control Measure Creating ‘Database’ of Gunowners
Oregon voters approved a ballot question that is considered one of the most restrictive gun control measures in the country. Known as Measure 114, the ballot question was approved 51% to 49%, with 77% of the vote counted, The Oregonian reported early Wednesday. Though the results were close with just over three-fourths of the vote…Bronson Winslow -
12 More Incidents in Which Lawful Gun Owners Stopped Criminals
In a case called New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court in June struck down concealed carry permitting frameworks in several states that effectively prohibited ordinary Americans from carrying firearms in public for self-defense. Since then, residents of those states have applied for concealed carry permits in droves, showing just…Amy Swearer -
In Big Win for Free Speech, Federal Court Rules That Beauty Pageant Need Not Include Transgender ‘Female’
File this one under “outcomes we could have predicted.” A federal court last week determined that a beauty pageant association could exclude a transgender “female” (i.e., a male) from participating in one of its contests. The decision Wednesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit was a major win for the First…Sarah Parshall Perry -
Why This Graphic Artist Took Her Free Speech Case to Supreme Court
Colorado graphic artist Lorie Smith doesn’t want to be forced to create wedding websites for same-sex couples. “I’ve always been creative, I’ve always wanted to design for weddings, and I want to design and create for weddings in a way that’s consistent with God’s view of marriage,” Smith says. Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal…Virginia Allen -
Judge Blocks New York’s Ban on Guns in Church—for Now
A federal judge last week stopped New York state officials from enforcing the part of a new gun law that bans firearms from places of worship, at least temporarily. The Oct. 20 ruling is a small but important Second Amendment victory for New Yorkers and advocates of self-defense in a state that largely has been…Nicole Russell -
Website Designer 303 Creative’s Case Before High Court Pits Free Speech vs. Gay Rights
The Supreme Court will rule “at least 7-2 in favor of 303 Creative,” Notre Dame Law School professor Sherif Girgis predicts. Girgis joined a panel discussion Oct. 25 with lawyers Kristen Waggoner and David Cole that turned into a civil debate at the National Archives in Washington, discussing the future of the pending free speech…Virginia Allen -
Yes, Democrats, Sometimes a ‘Good Guy With a Gun’ Does ‘Stop the Bad Guys.’ Here’s Proof.
In a press conference defending the state’s new restrictions on concealed carry permit holders, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, told reporters last month: “This whole concept that a good guy with a gun will stop the bad guys with a gun, it doesn’t hold up. And the data bears this out, so that…Amy Swearer -
Free Speech vs. Banning Jews
The University of California, Berkeley is known for many things, some good and some very bad, even outrageous. In 1964, a ban on campus political and religious activities launched what was called the free speech and academic freedom movement that quickly spread to other campuses. To many of an older generation, it quickly got out of hand….Cal Thomas -
Mark Houck Attorney: Garland Must Explain to Family Why Their Father Was Arrested by Men With Guns
When Republicans question Attorney General Merrick Garland on the shocking arrest of a Catholic father, Mark Houck’s lawyer wants the Houck family to be in the front row. Peter Breen, an attorney with the Thomas More Society representing Houck, told The Daily Signal in a phone interview that the Justice Department sent “20-plus heavily armed…Mary Margaret Olohan