Federal law prohibits nine categories of persons from receipt and possession of a firearm.  As the Supreme Court continues to develop its Second Amendment jurisprudence, which ones of those types are most significant in regard to representativeness and numerosity? Felons in possession of firearms have been the leading type of prosecution under the federal Gun Control Act since its enactment in 1968.  There were 7,454 such convictions in 2021. The ban on felon possession is found in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), which also includes eight other categories of prohibited persons – all of which pal ..read more

I'm delighted to report that Prof. Rick Garnett (Notre Dame) will be guest-blogging this week about his forthcoming First Amendment Law Review article,  "Justice Breyer and the Establishment Clause: Notes on 'Appeasement', 'Legal Judgment', and Divisiveness'". I've long found Justice Breyer's Establishment Clause approach to be interesting (though ultimately on balance mistaken), and I'm particularly looking forward to Prof. Garnett's analysis. The post Prof. Rick Garnett (Notre Dame) Guest-Blogging About Justice Breyer's Establishment Clause Approach appeared first on Reason.co ..read more

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., last week sentenced Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, and tampering with records. The New York Times says Rhodes was sentenced for "the role he played in helping to mobilize the pro-Trump attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021." It adds that the sentence is "the most severe penalty so far in the more than 1,000 criminal cases stemming from the Capitol attack." Contrary to that gloss, Rhodes' role in the breach of the Capitol, which forced a delay in the congressiona ..read more

Frederick Douglass (Library of Congress).   Today is Memorial Day, when we honor members of the armed forces who have fallen in battle. Memorial Day originated as Decoration Day, an occasion to honor soldiers who died in the Civil War. Frederick Douglass's 1871 Decoration Day speech, delivered at Arlington National Cemetery, may be the greatest-ever address associated with this occasion. In the process, he also offered valuable thoughts on how we should remember the Civil War. Check it out! Here's an excerpt: Dark and sad will be the hour to this nation when it forgets to pay grateful h ..read more

From Shanley a/k/a T.S. Joyce v. Hutchings a/k/a Terry Bolryder a/k/a Domino Savage, decided Friday by Judge David Barlow (D. Utah): Ms. Shanley and Ms. Hutchings both write paranormal romance fiction. Readers of such fiction gather online to discuss books and promote authors. For instance, Ms. Hutchings avers that she has 8,000 followers on Facebook and 1,500 followers on Instagram. Ms. Shanley and Ms. Hutchings interacted in one online community for four months in 2016. At diverse times, Ms. Hutchings published various negative comments about Ms. Shanley. She accused Ms. Shanley of being a ..read more

5/29/1917: President John F. Kennedy's birthday. He would appoint two Justices to the Supreme Court: Byron R. White and Arthur J. Goldberg. President Kennedy's appointees to the Supreme Court   The post Today in Supreme Court History: May 29, 1917 appeared first on Reason.com ..read more

The regulatory body that oversees the nation's power grid cast a bit of a chill over the coming warm months when, in mid-May, it cautioned that the country might not generate enough electric power to meet demand. Coming after multiple warnings from regulators, grid operators, and industry experts that enthusiasm for retiring old-school "dirty" generating capacity is outstripping the ability of renewable sources to fill the gap, the announcement is a heads-up to Americans that they may want to make back-up plans for a power grid growing increasingly unreliable. It's also a reminder that green ..read more

Memorial Day ushers in the unofficial start of summer. We're still three weeks off from the summer solstice, but for many kids (and kids at heart!) a more nostalgic marker is here. The pools are open. Unfortunately, however, fledgling swimmers once again have to deal with some rain on their parade in the form of the ongoing lifeguard shortage, which, at this point, is starting to sound like the song that never ends. It was set in motion by the COVID-19 pandemic. There are simply not enough people, namely teens, who want to do this work, we're told. But there is a major piece of the puzzle, wh ..read more

Baltimore police report that automobile theft is up 95 percent so far in 2023 compared to the same period last year. So city officials are taking action. They are suing Hyundai and Kia, claiming their cars are too easy to steal. Vehicles made by the two companies reportedly make up 40 percent of all cars stolen in the city. The suit claims the automakers have put residents at risk and cost the city money trying to prevent and respond to the theft of the vehicles they make. The post Brickbat: Who's To Blame? appeared first on Reason.com ..read more

The post Monday Open Thread appeared first on Reason.com ..read more