Second Amendment News
From Supreme Court rulings to state-level legislation, The Daily Signal provides conservative coverage of the battles over Second Amendment rights.
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Justices Continue Long, Shameful Silence on Second Amendment
When the Supreme Court earlier this spring dismissed a New York gun case from its docket without ruling on the merits, disappointed Second Amendment advocates still had high hopes. After all, even though the court hadn’t decided a meaningful Second Amendment case in more than a decade, at least four justices had recently signaled their…Amy Swearer -
The Supreme Court Punts on an Easy Second Amendment Case
It’s been a decade since the Supreme Court affirmed, in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), that the Second Amendment protects an individual and fundamental right, striking down laws that effectively prohibited the possession of handguns in one’s own home. Since then, the court has routinely declined to…Amy Swearer -
Loading a New Database of Defensive Gun Use
For well over a year, The Daily Signal has published a monthly series highlighting lawful gun owners who used their firearms to protect their liberties, lives, or livelihoods. Although these articles recount just a dozen or so stories each month, the incidents are selected from hundreds of other, similar examples. Those defensive gun uses are…Amy Swearer -
11 Examples of Bloomberg’s Folly on Defensive Gun Use
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 guarded by an armed security detail. Bloomberg’s response? He is a wealthy businessman and politician who faces threats that normal Americans do not, so it’s just fine for him to…Amy Swearer -
This County Is Utah’s First Sanctuary for Second Amendment
A county in Utah has shot down the idea of more gun control by becoming the first county in the state to declare itself a Second Amendment sanctuary. The three-member Uintah County Commission voted unanimously to pass an ordinance making the county a stronghold that refuses to comply with federal or state laws on firearms…Allison Schuster -
We Hear You: From Gender Identity in Sports to Second Amendment Rights
Editor's note: We're back with another batch of your emails on our coverage of the nation's policy debates. Got a point to make? Write to [email protected].—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: Kelsey Bolar’s treatment in her video report of the issue of transgender athletes in girls sports is more in depth than a previous article I…Ken McIntyre -
Virginia Gun Control Bills Firing Up Second Amendment Backers
Proposed gun control legislation in the Virginia General Assembly has many Second Amendment advocates in the state literally up in arms, prompting strong pushback from gun rights groups and firearms owners. Groups including the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a pro-Second Amendment nonprofit organization, and the National Rifle Association are taking the lead in opposing enactment…Allison Schuster -
The Media’s Shameful Depiction of Pro-Second Amendment Protests in Virginia
It’s the tea party all over again. Way back in 2009 the press, followed by a gaggle of left-wing commentators and politicians, did a number on tea party protests, often portraying them—with little evidence—as driven by racist rage against President Barack Obama rather than principled opposition to his administration’s policies. These same tactics were on…Jarrett Stepman -
California’s Politicians Step Up Their Disregard for Second Amendment
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 weeks. First, San Francisco’s city government adopted a resolution condemning the National Rifle Association as a “domestic terrorist organization” for having the audacity to insist that the constitutional rights of…Patrick Featherston -
Why These Defensive Uses of Firearms Should Disarm Second Amendment Skeptics
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 mass confiscation of commonly owned firearms, it’s important to remember that those same firearms are regularly used by average Americans to defend their life, liberty, and property. While some gun…Amy Swearer -
Gun Rights Made All the Difference for These Intended Victims
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 malevolent, outdated barricade to peace that must be demolished or diminished in the name of public safety. Rather, the Second Amendment is a fundamental part of the nation’s scheme of…Amy Swearer -
The Supreme Court Won’t Decide If the Second Amendment Covers Gun ‘Silencers’
The Supreme Court rejected two cases challenging federal regulation of gun suppressors Monday, just days after one such accessory was used in a massacre that left 12 dead in a Virginia Beach municipal building. Suppressors, which are commonly referred to as “silencers,” are tightly regulated under the 1937 National Firearms Act . Both cases arose from…Kevin Daley -
The Second Amendment Saved These Gun Owners’ Lives in April
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, too many well-intentioned people today advocate severely restricting the ability of law-abiding Americans to defend themselves and others with the most effective firearms. Their desire for strict gun control laws…Amy Swearer -
Trump Scraps Obama-Era UN Arms Treaty Opposed by Second Amendment Backers
President Donald Trump announced Friday the United States is pulling out of the international Arms Trade Treaty, a treaty signed by the Obama administration—but never ratified by the Senate—that concerned many Second Amendment advocates. Trump called it a “badly misguided” treaty when speaking Friday at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Indianapolis. “We will…Fred Lucas -
Tackling Questions About Colorado’s Red Flag Law and the Second Amendment
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 he or she poses a significant risk of harm to self or others. This makes Colorado the 15th state to enact such a law, known in Colorado as an extreme…Peyton Smith -
Second Amendment Groups Speak Out Against Suing Gun-Makers
The Connecticut Supreme Court’s Thursday ruling allowing victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre to sue gun manufacturer Bushmaster Firearms left Second Amendment groups bewildered. The 4-3 decision found that the plaintiffs—the families of nine victims—can sue Bushmaster under state unfair trade practices law, despite a federal statute that protects the gun industry from most lawsuits….Kevin Daley -
This County Declares Itself a ‘Second Amendment Sanctuary’ and Others May Follow
New Mexico’s Quay County is pushing back against the state’s gun control bills by declaring itself a “Second Amendment Sanctuary County.” The Quay County Commission voted unanimously Wednesday supporting the resolution to protect its citizens’ gun rights. Among the bills pending in the state Legislature that the commision is responding to is House Bill 8,…Joshua Q. Nelson -
Supreme Court to Hear First Gun Rights Case in Nearly a Decade
The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will hear a case challenging New York City’s prohibition on transporting licensed handguns within city limits to locations other than shooting ranges. The petitioners are challenging city regulations that almost entirely forbid residents from removing lawfully owned handguns from their homes. This is the first significant Second Amendment…Elizabeth Slattery -
‘I Cannot Comply’: A Second Amendment Advocate’s Fight Against the City of Boulder, Colorado
A Second Amendment advocate fighting against a constitutionally questionable gun ban and certification ordinance in the city of Boulder, Colorado, says he and his daughter have been targeted and bullied as his case winds through the court system. The city last May passed an ordinance requiring gun owners to “certify” their “assault weapons” or remove…Bethany Blankley -
The Dallas Cop Shooting Was Horrific. It Also Has Nothing to Do With the Second Amendment.
Last week, an off-duty Dallas police officer fatally shot 26-year-old Botham Jean inside his own apartment. The officer—since identified as Amber Guyger, a four-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department—was also a resident in the same apartment complex, and claims she shot Jean after walking into the wrong apartment and mistaking him for a home…Amy Swearer