RSS feed for this website is available at

http://www.davekopel.org/feed.xml

PDA version of this page.

PDA version of Kopel's weblog.

Sign up for Kopel's free Second Amendment Project e-mail newsletter.

Latest newsletter issue, April 15, on the web.

Kopel's Corner weblog. (Reprints of Kopel posts on The Volokh Conspiracy and the Colorado Union of Taxpayers weblog.) Latest entries: What to watch for in DC v. Heller. How the Irish Saved Civilization, Again, by rejecting the EU treaty. Brady Campaign makes factual error. Antitrust lawsuit v. OPEC.

Latest Media Analysis articles

Dailies' Haditha coverage admirable. More even-handed than national media. Rocky Mountain News/Denver Post. June 28, 2008.

Privacy concerns at Post. New database listing state employees names and salaries is a bad idea. Rocky Mountain News/Denver Post. June 14, 2008.

Dailies shrug off Libertarian confab. The American Spectator and The Colorado Independent provided the best coverage of the Libertarian Party presidential nominating convention in Denver. Rocky Mountain News/Denver Post. May 31, 2008.

Archives

Newspaper and magazine articles, 2001 to the present.

Newspaper and magazine articles, 1986-2000.

Books, law review articles, other scholarly publications.

Kopel's Corner Weblog

Some popular older articles:

59 Deceits in Fahrenheit 911

Television and Radio

Colorado Inside-Out. Thursdays at 8 pm., Fridays at 5 pm. KBDI channel 12, Denver. YouTubes of some recent episodes.

Podcasts & Video

Deforestation in Africa. Thousands of acres of forest were set ablaze. Fires raged for a full week in multiple parts of Ethiopia, however volunteers were not allowed to help put them out. Dave Kopel sits down with dissident Ethiopian journalist Habtamu Dugo as they discuss the ecological destruction that ravaged the Ethiopian countryside as fires, most believe the government started and the let blaze for weeks. Run Time 9:45. May 7, 2008. MP3.

Taiwan Presidential Election Analysis with David Kopel. Originally broadcast on KBDI-TV channel 12, Denver, April 4, 2008. Filmed at the Public Television Service station, Taipei, Taiwan, March 20, 2008. Kopel interviews Dr. Yen Chen-Sen from the National Chengchi University's Institute of International Relations and Dr. Lai I-Chung from Taiwan Thinktank. Video.

American Constitution Society panel on DC v. Heller. Moderated by Dahlia Lithwick of Slate, the panel features a discussion with John Payne (formerly of the D.C. Corporation Counsel's office; attorney of record on the Brady amicus brief, and currently head of the NAACP LDF), Carl Bogus (Prof. of Law at Roger Williams, and lead author on a pro-DC amicus brief of some historians) and Dave Kopel. The debate was held at the National Press Club, in Washington, D.C.;  on March 13, 2008. The video and audio are available here.

Podcast and  Multimedia archive

Books

VICTORY!

Heller's Kitchen. How the Heller decision may affect New York City gun laws. New York Sun, June 30, 2008.

The First Dominos Fall: Morton Grove and Wilmette Handgun Bans. The Volokh Conspiracy weblog, June 29, 2008.

Miller, Colt .45s and Natural Law. The Heller decision provides constitutional protection for what it recognizes as the natural right of self-defense. The decision also show DC's ban on all self-loading guns to be unconstitutional. Scotusblog, June 27, 2008.

Heller is just the beginning of expanding judicial protection of the right to arms. ReasonOnline, June 27, 2008.

Conservative Activists Key to DC Handgun Decision. Human Events. June 27, 2008.
 

Constitution is Big Winner in D.C. Gun Case. Kopel's analysis of the Heller decision. Pajamas Media. June 26, 2008.

Ringside at the Supreme Court. Report on the Heller oral argument. America's 1st Freedom. June 2008. In PDF.

Kopel on the Mike Rosen Show, 850 KOA Denver. June 27, 2008. Hour 1. Hour 2.

Kopel on Downrange Radio. 24 minutes on the Heller decision. June 27, 2008.

Supco Ruling a Big Victory, but Many Fights Ahead. West Virginia Outdoor News. June 27, 2008. Audio. Article about the interview. 26 minutes.

Kopel on the Jon Caldara Show, 850 KOA Denver. June 26, 2008.Half hour.

iVoices.org podcast on the Heller decision. June 26, 2008. 14 minutes.

Kopel interviewed on Caplis & Silverman radio show, KHOW Denver, about Heller. June 26, 2008. (Click on the 3 p.m. hour archive.)

"Good legal scholarship was absolutely crucial to this outcome. No justice is capable of producing the historical research and analysis upon which Justice Scalia relied. Brilliant as it was in its execution, his opinion rested on the work of many scholars of the Second Amendment, as I am sure he would be the first to acknowledge. ...

Due to the political orthodoxy among most constitutional law professors, some of the most important and earliest of this scholarship was produced by nonacademics like Don Kates, Stephen Halbrook, David Kopel, Clayton Cramer and others."

Randy E. Barnett, News Flash: The Constitution Means What It Says, Wall Street Journal, June 27, 2008, page A13

Independence Institute brief in Supreme Court handgun ban case.

In conjunction with a broad coalition of law enforcement organizations, the Independence Institute has filed an amicus brief in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court case which will decide whether the DC handgun ban and ban on home defense with any firearm is a violation of the Second Amendment. The brief is available in PDF.

Latest short articles and commentary

Gun Owners for Hillary? Townhall.com, May 9, 2008.

The Democrats and Gun Control. The Clinton and Obama records belie their claims to support the Second Amendment. Wall Street Journal. April 17, 2008.

What are the anti's thinking? Analysis of the anti-Second Amendment amicus briefs in District of Columbia v. Heller. America's 1st Freedom. April 2008.  PDF.

Obama's Other Spiritual Mentor: Rev. Michael Pfleger. The man whom Obama described as one of his three spiritual mentors is a Farrakhan devotee who hates the Second Amendment. Volokh Conspiracy weblog. Apr. 8, 2008.

Oral argument in DC v. Heller. The view from the counsel table. Volokh Conspiracy weblog. Mar. 31, 2008.

A Needed, but Inadequate, Critique of Antitrust and Reform Proposals. Book review of The Antitrust Religion by Edwin S. Rockefeller (Cato Institute, 2007). Info Tech & Telecom News (Heartland Institute). April 1, 2008.

Latest Monographs & Journal articles

Taiwan's Presidential Elections: An Analysis of What Happened, and What May Happen Next. Independence Institute Issue Paper. April 2008. PDF. Examining how KMT candidate Ma Ying-Jeou won the election in part because of his strong defense of Taiwan's sovereignty and his appeal to Taiwan's growing national consciousness. The Issue Paper also analyzes the two referenda on UN membership.

"Is There a Relationship between Guns and Freedom? Comparative Results from 59 Nations." 13 Texas Review of Law & Politics (no. 1, 2008, forthcoming). With Carl E. Moody & Howard Nemerov. There are 59 nations for which data about per capita gun ownership are available. This Working Paper examines the relationship between gun density and several measures of freedom and prosperity: the Freedom House ratings of political rights and civil liberty, the Transparency International Perceived Corruption Index, the World Bank Purchasing Power Parity ratings, and the Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom. The data suggest that the relationships between gun ownership rates and these other measures are complex. The data show that (although exceptions can be found) the nations with the highest rates of gun ownership tend to have greater political and civil freedom, greater economic freedom and prosperity, and much less corruption than other nations. The relationship only exists in for high-ownership countries. Countries with medium rates of gun density generally scored no better or worse than countries with the lowest levels of gun rates.

"Evolving Christian attitudes towards personal and national self-defense." Working paper. Nov. 27. Analyzes changes in Christian thought about the use of force, from the 19th to the 21st century. PDF.

"Modern Christian Pacifist Philosophy." Working paper. Nov. 2007. Examines strengths and weaknesses of various contemporary Christian pacifist philosophies. PDF.

"Human Rights and Gun Confiscation." 26 Quinnipiac Law Review 383 (2008). PDF. With Paul Gallant & Joanne D. Eisen. Examines human rights abuses in gun confiscation programs in Kenya and Uganda, and in South Africa's quasi-confiscatory licensing law. Also provides the most complete collection ever presented of international survey data about why people in various countries own guns.

"Dhimmitude and Disarmament." 18 George Mason University Civil Rights Law Journal 305 (2008). PDF.

"The Human Right of Self-Defense." 22 BYU Journal of Public Law 43 (2008). David Kopel, Paul Gallant & Joanne D. Eisen. PDF.

Organizations

Research Director of the Independence Institute

Associate Policy Analyst, Cato Institute.

Columnist, Rocky Mountain News/Denver Post.

Editor-in-Chief, Journal on Firearms & Public Policy.

Member, Council of the Editors of Learned Journals.

Peer Reviewer, Criminal Justice Policy Review.

Contributing Editor, Information Technology & Telecom News (Heartland Institute)

Contributing Editor, Liberty magazine.

Contributing Editor, Gun Week

Contributing Legal Editor, The Firearms & Outdoor Trade.

Adjunct Professor of Law, New York University, 1998-99. Course syllabus.

Board of Directors, Colorado Union of Taxpayers.

Website designer, MaryLinks.

Background

BV-rated attorney. "CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies."
Former Assistant Attorney General, State of Colorado,  Hazardous and solid waste enforcement.

University of Michigan Law School, J.D. magna cum laude. Contributing Editor, Michigan Law Review.

Brown University, B.A. in History with Highest Honors. National Geographic Society Prize for best History thesis.

NRA-certified instructor for Pistol and for Personal Protection. NRA-qualified Distinguished Expert rating for Handgun.

Memberships: Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (Life member), American Civil Liberties Union, American Society of International Law, International Association of Genocide Scholars, Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, National Council of Editorial Writers, National Rifle Association (Benefactor member), National Society of Newspaper Columnists, Triple Nine Society. Zionist Organization of America.

Research Areas

Criminal Justice

Digital Economy

Environment

Health, Education & Welfare

History

International

Media Analysis

Religion

Right to Arms: USA

Right to Arms: International

Terrorism (and Fahrenheit 911)

Waco

Favorite links.

World Languages

Français.

Italiano. Nuovo: Intervista a David B. Kopel.

Español. El Control de Armas en Japón.

Polski /Polish.

Português.

Český /Czech

Magyar /Hungarian. új: Az ENSZ bûntárs volt az izraeli katonák elrablásában.

Pусский/Russian. Что делать с заключённым уйгуром. 24.6.2008. MP3.

Deutsch /German. Zur Tragödie von Virginia Tech

Nederlands /Dutch.

Svenska /Swedish.

Dansk /Danish.

繁體中文 /Chinese.

日本語 Full-text Japanese version of this entire website.

Great new website: JerryKopel.com. My father's essays on Colorado and national politics, based on his 22 years of service as a Colorado State Representative

To contact Kopel, write "david",  then "@", then "davidkopel.org"

Browse or shop at Dave Kopel's Great Books and Great Movies pages.

Dave's co-authors.

Legal: Wisconsin Right to Life vs. FEC. This is case returned to the Supreme Court in 2007, with oral arguments in April. The plaintiffs hope that the case may place some First Amendment limits on McCain-Feingold's speech-suppression laws. The amicus brief in which the Independence Institute participated is here. A collection of other briefs and documents is here. It is a good test case because the advertisement in question (urging Wisconsin citizens to tell Senator Feingold stop supporting the filibusters of Bush-nominated judges) was plainly a communication about the business of Congress, rather than a thinly-disguised campaign advertisement (e.g., "Tell Senator Snort that you're upset that he was arrested for domestic violence 10 years ago.") Yet the advertisement was claimed to be illegal by the FEC because it was aired within 60 days of the general election.

Click for details on Kopel's citation by 8 State Supreme Courts, by federal courts, and in over 400 law review articles.

.