Three years ago, I wrote a column questioning the constitutional and practical effect of gun control reforms pushed through after the Las Vegas massacre, including limits on the capacity of magazines. The moves were being oversold in the media as reforms that would make such attacks less likely or deadly while also ignoring the constitutional standard for the review of such measures. Now, one of those reforms, California’s ban on high-capacity gun magazines, has been struck down by a panel on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Notably, the magazine laws were one of the most promising areas of gun control laws after the Court’s 2008 decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller. Indeed, while I doubted its efficacy, I thought that limits on magazines could potentially pass constitutional muster under Heller with a properly crafted and supported law.
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I testified in the Senate about the erosion of free speech and rise of violence on our campuses and in our streets. Antifa and related groups have succeeded in advancing anti-free-speech agendas as students and faculty justify attacks on those with opposing views. An example of the growing intolerance can be found in an editorial at the Daily California by staff writer Khaled Alqahtani. The August 12th column calls for violent resistance and denounced notions of civility in the public debate over racial and economic justice.
Below is my column in the Hill on the announced criminal plea by former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith and the continued calls by Democratic leaders to end the John Durham investigation. This week I 
There was a curious moment this weekend when a member of Congress, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D., N.J.) called upon New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal to use a grand jury to investigate criminal charges against President Donald Trump and U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for “the subversion” of the upcoming election. From a Madisonian perspective, a member of Congress calling for a grand jury to investigate wrongdoing by a federal agency is like a NASA calling up NOAA to explore Mars. Pascrell is a sitting member in a house, controlled by his own party, with the constitutional authority of oversight over the postal service. Our system of separation of powers commits this question to the political branches rather than criminalizing political disputes.
The media is alight today after the publication of 
I have been critical recently of the torrent of lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) during the Trump Administration. The over 400 lawsuit represent a shift from the prior careful litigation strategy of the ACLU, which was once as concerned with creating bad precedent as it was creating good precedent. While the ACLU has had some major wins, it has also lost many of these cases. The latest loss was a case rejected by U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg based on a claim that the postage on mail-in ballots constitute a type of poll tax.
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the effort of New York Attorney General Letitia James to forced the dissolution of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The decision of James to seek the clearly unwarranted dissolution of the nation’s largest gun rights organization is consistent with her past politicalization of office. The case itself is important and raises serious questions of excessive spending by officers of the NRA. While there are other organizations that have not received this level of attention over spending, the record of the NRA is worthy of scrutiny and possible injunctive relief. However, James undermined the credibility of the case by demanding dissolution to pander to Democratic voters. It is all too familiar to those of us who have criticized James in the past for her use of the office for political grandstanding.
I recently 
Another professor is under fire this week for rabidly anti-Republican views. Clemson School of Computing Assistant Professor 
This week I 
For many years, I have written columns denouncing faith-based politics of both 
I was recently called by the Philadelphia Inquirer on a fact check of Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) claim that officers in Portland of “kidnapping and holding citizens without charges.” I explained that the common hyperbolic claim of kidnapping is legally unfounded. The newspaper still found that Casey was “mostly right.” This is why I believe he was wrong. He was not alone however in his judgment.
Another professor is under fire for a tweet this week. In a 
For years, we have been discussing the rapid loss of objectivity and neutrality in the media where most viewers no longer trust what they read or hear. Various cable networks and newspapers have openly embraced the echo-journalist model, including the shocking actions of the New York Times recently to 
Today I am testifying in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution on the anti-free-speech movement in the United States. The hearing is entitled “