Monday, April 14, 2014

A Right to Firearms Commerce

The always (okay, almost always) excellent David Kopel has a post up on Volokh Conspiracy linking to his HLR essay on whether the Second Amendment protects a right to firearms commerce.

I've linked to it before I've fully read it myself, but it looks very interesting, essentially claiming that if the right to own a firearm is protected for individuals, it implies that these individuals are engaging in commerce to acquire them. Now, the protection may change a bit depending on whether the topic is an individual engaging in private transfers or businesses engaging in commerce. Also, there's perhaps a question beyond whether commerce is protected - sure, commerce must happen, but what legally prohibits the government from enforcing a monopoly on being that source of firearms, perhaps? Does this protection of commerce protect the right of individuals to open businesses to sell firearms, or just for individuals to buy firearms. Where does this protection intersect with bans? Kopel's argument is interesting, and the impact will be exciting to see.

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