At the end of the 1990's, public support for protecting gun control was the majority. But since then, especially in the last 3 or 4 years, public opinion has switched more in favor of protecting gun rights. (from PBS link below)
I asked my professor why, as a top constitutional scholar in our country, he chose to focus on 2nd amendment rights. To my embarrassment, he interpreted this question as why he chose to focus on it in our class. It was embarrassing not only that he thought I was critiquing his teaching decisions, which may have lined me up with the uber-liberals (and recent college graduates) in our class which felt that any mention of our professor's beliefs was an assault against the impartiality of the class, but also because he posted my question, and his response, on Blackboard.
Ugh. So I never got the answer to why, of all the urgent causes going on in our country and our world, he has chosen to focus on 2nd amendment rights. Maybe because its a space wide open for scholarship? (He wrote the first book, forthcoming, on it). To which I would reply, for good reason. Leave it open until we sort out the more pressing problems.
The typical response to gun rights assisting "gun control" is that criminals will get their guns anyway. But if more lawful citizens have guns, they will be able to protect the rest of us when these criminals wreak havoc on our society. I will be the first to admit I am not the most well-informed citizen, but I can't recall a news story where a vigilante justice of the peace wielded his gun against a criminal and saved lives. Please, if I am wrong, site it.
But in this case, we have an ordinary citizen who bought a gun legally and used it wrongly. Below are some discussions on the subject. You may find it odd that I chose to pursue the argument of my professor. But I find, often, the best way to find the answers to your questions is to consult the opposite. And, I am extremely proud to be exposed to such a bright mind and dedicated scholar. Professor K won the hearts and minds myself and of many of my classmates, from various spots on the political and ideological spectrum. One of the most touching moments, and one I only wish could be repeated across our country, happened after Professor K and a liberal CU professor faced off on a panel about Obamacare. Professor K's arguments were rational, based on careful consideration of texts and precedents, and the impacts of the legislation. The other professor's argument was sensationalist and accusatory. He attacked Professor K personally instead of his argument.
Many of us lined up at the start of the next class to congratulate Professor K and thank him for speaking. I thought it was a really great moment -mostly liberal students going up and thanking the professor for being so professional, and so well spoken. It didn't matter about the argument. If I learned anything from Professor Kopel, it was a different approach to the same conclusion I came to in Philosophy: we know nothing. All of our arguments are based on assumptions. The other side is never "wrong." They're just coming from a different place. What we're here to do is hash out any misunderstandings that have developed along the way. This is how any debate should be carried out in our country. We are all on a quest for truth. If we're too attached to ourselves and our own truths we will never advance.
Good summary article by Prof K:
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/312322/colorado-consensus-gun-laws-dave-kopel
Professor K appearing on PBS
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/july-dec12/colorado_07-23.html
Professor K on Piers Morgan
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/piers-morgan-clashes-with-guest-over-whether-it-is-appropriate-time-to-discuss-gun-control/
The Volokh Conspiracy
One of the most widely read legal blogs in the United States, generally from a libertarian or conservative perspective. (from Wikipedia.) Professor K writes for this blog, and told us the Supreme Court justices consult it as well.
http://www.volokh.com/2012/08/08/large-capacity-magazines/
Articles from Professor K's CV:
http://davekopel.org/
Latest short articles
Should Congress revise our nation's gun laws? No. State gun laws do the job. Denver Post. July 29, 2012.
Colorado Consensus on Gun Laws. Broadly supported post-Columbine reforms balance gun rights and gun control. National Review Online. July 26, 2012.
Don't turn Aurora killer into celebrity. USA Today. July 19, 2012. Excerpt read by Neil Conan on National Public Radio, July 23, 2012. Analysis in Come non parlare di una strage, Il Post (Italy). July 22, 2012.
$2 Billion They'll Never See Again. Canada repeals long gun registration. America's 1st Freedom. July 2012.
OSHA Targets Shooting Range. Volokh.com. June 23, 2012.
Latest Television, Radio, Podcasts, Print Media
Colorado Inside Out. Romney and Obama battle for Colorado. Mental health of Aurora murderer. Aug. 10, 2012. Postgame: Univ. of Colo. lobbyists have other clients.
What could have stopped temple shooting? USA Today. Aug. 7, 2012. Video discussion.
How the Media, Entertainment Industry Affects Violence. iVoices.org. Aug. 1, 2012. 39 minutes.
Colorado Inside Out. Aurora murders, forest service wildfire report. July 27, 2012. Postgame: Community reaction to the murders.
Will James Holmes get the Death Penalty? Colorado Theater Shooter Faces Death, Says Attorney. China National Central TV (CCTV), re-aired by Jewish News One. July 27, 2012.
Colorado Inside-Out. Patricia Calhoun, Mike Littwin, April Washington, and Kopel discuss the Aurora murders. July 20, 2012. 27 mins.Postgame: more on the murders.
In the Media
3-D Printer Used To Construct Gun Parts. CBS4 Denver. By Peter V. Milo. Aug. 2, 2012.
Regarding Aurora murders. Diana DeGette and Ed Perlmutter, Democratic U.S. Reps., Lead The Way Toward Tighter Gun Control After Aurora Shooting. The Colorado Independent. By Scot Kersgaard. Aug. 7, 2012. Law Professor David Kopel Argues Colorado Gun Laws Have Saved Lives/a>. Guns.com. By S.H. Blannelberry. Aug. 2, 2012. Kopel and Eugene Volokh quoted in New York Times, on Colorado gun laws. July 20, 2012. Size of ammunition cache not unusual, say gun experts. By Joey Bunch. Denver Post. July 22, 2012. Public health leaders ‘afraid to say guns’. By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon and Diane Carman. Health Policy Solutions. July 24, 2012. Tuerie d'Aurora: armes à feu à profusion. By Nicolas Bérubé. La Presse (Montreal). July 23, 2012. Denver sörjer offren efter skjutningen. Swedish National Radio. July 22, 2012. USA's vapenlagar ohotade trots Denver-skytten. Swedish National Radio. July 22, 2012. Colorado, bastano un modulo online e 152,50 dollari per un porto d'armi. America 24. July 21, 2012. Schietpartij beïnvloedt campagne VS niet sterk. Obama en Romney vermijden discussie over wapengebruik. De Staandard. July 23, 2012. En tragisk påminnelse om at vi har et nasjonalt problem. Aftenpost (Norway). July 21, 2012. Amerikas Kreuz mit dem Waffenrecht. Der Spiegel (Germany). July 21, 2012. Schweigen zum Waffenrecht. Der Taggespiegel. July 21, 2012. Právo mít zbraň nedává smysl, píší americká média po masakru na Batmanovi. IHNED (Czech Republic). July 22, 2012. Futile remedies for mass shootings.. Lots of ideas, but none would work. By Steve Chapman. Chicago Tribune. July 25, 2012.
A Land Without Guns: How Japan Has Virtually Eliminated Shooting Deaths. By Max Fisher. The Atlantic. July 23, 2012. Discusses Kopel'sarticle on Japanese gun control. (Spanish text of the article available here.) The article is an excerpt from a chapter in Kopel's book The Samurai, the Mountie, and the Cowboy: Should America Adopt the Gun Con trols of Other Democracies? The book was named Book of the Year by the American Society of Criminology, Division of International Criminology.
Latest Monographs & Journal articles
The American Revolution against British Gun Control. Administrative and Regulatory Law News (American Bar Association). Vol. 37, no. 4, Summer 2012.
Weapons Laws of the Russian Federation. Independence Institute Issue Paper number 7-2012. May 2012. By Margot van Loon. Full translation of the statutes into English.
The Great Gun Control War of the 20th Century--and its Lessons for Today. Fordham Urban Law Journal (forthcoming).
Mexico's Federal Law of Firearms and Explosives. 13 Engage 43 (no. 1, Mar. 2012).
How the British Gun Control Program Precipitated the American Revolution. 38 Charleston Law Review 283 (2012).
Colombia's National Law of Firearms and Explosives. Full translation of the Colombian statutes, along with historical and narrative explanation. Independence Institute Issue Paper no. 3-2011. By Jonathan Edward Shaw.
Bad News for Professor Koppelman: The Incidental Unconstitutionality of the Individual Mandate. 121 Yale Law Journal Online 267 (2011). With Gary Lawson. HTML. PDF.
How Many Global Deaths from Arms? Reasons to Question the 740,000 Factoid being used to Promote the Arms Trade Treaty. 5 NYU Journal of Law & Liberty 672 (2010). With Paul Gallant & Joanne D. Eisen.
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