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The lack of originalist justification for excluding felons from the Second Amendment

By Douglas A. Berman

I just saw on SSRN this notable article by Carlton Larson about the Supreme Court's work in Heller, titled "Four Exceptions in Search of a Theory: District of Columbia v. Heller and Judicial Ipse Dixit."  Here is the abstract: This Symposium Essay examines the Supreme Court's Second Amendment decision in District of Columbia v. Heller.  Specifically, the Essay examines four exceptions to the right to bear arms that the Court specifically approved: laws disarming felons; laws disarming the mentally ill; laws prohibiting the possession of firearms in sensitive places; and laws regulating the commercial sale of firearms.  The Essay argues that these exceptions cannot be completely justified on originalist grounds, at least under the form of originalism that the Court is likely to employ...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on March 09, 2009 (boomark / email).