It was delivered in late June to the Second Amendment Task Force, a group of Republican Senate aides. (Unfortunately, the Senate’s protocals of partisanship prevent organizations like this from having aides from both parties.) My presentation is here (22 minutes). The presentation by Hans Von Spakovsky, Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, is here. And Stephen Halbrook’s presentation is here.

If you’re a big Dave Kopel fan like myself, you probably find it difficult following everything the guy is doing. The man is prolific. Between writing a multitude of articles for a variety of different outlets, he’s constantly on the radio, on TV, in Washington DC testifying on something I probably wouldn’t understand, lecturing on Constitutional Law at DU, making an appearance somewhere on something I probably wouldn’t understand, or avoiding the rush of fans that descend on him when he’s in public. He does more in a day than I do in a decade.

Therefore, with a little help from Dave himself, here’s a quick list of stuff Dave’s done recently that most ordinary humans could not do:

Wrote an amicus brief in the McDonald v. Chicago Supreme Court case that was cited 3 times in the decision. Wrote a critical article for America’s 1st Freedom explaining the Supreme Court opinions in McDonald. Dave sat down with me for a podcast and a TV show about the crucial McDonald decision.

Here’s an America’s 1st Freedom article on Dave’s book Aiming for Liberty.

Dave flew to Washington DC to provide testimony on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan and her Second Amendment views. Here is video of Kopel’s testimony with a couple of followup Q&A from the Senators.

Catch Dave at Liberty on the Rocks Red Rocks this coming Monday the 19th at the Old Chicago in Lakewood.

After you’re done catching up with all that, Dave will have a dozen new things out to read, watch, and listen to, so stay tuned here.  We are so honored to have him here at Independence.  Thanks Dave for all you do!

On this week’s Devil’s Advocate, Independence Institute Research director David Kopel joins me to discuss the recent, and hugely significant, U.S. Supreme Court case McDonald v Chicago, and what the decision means for the Second Amendment and gun rights. Dave also discusses his recent testimony at the Elena Kagan Supreme Court nominee hearings. That’s this Friday at 8:30 PM on Colorado Public Television 12, re-broadcast the following Monday at 1:30 PM.

Available here. See paragraphs 19–28 for description of which parts of Chicago’s legal regime are being challenged. The National Rifle Association is helping with the funding of the case, but is not a party. Lead attorney is Charles Cooper, so it is certain that the presentation of the plaintiffs’ arguments will be outstanding.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A wonderful song at all times, and especially around Independence Day, especially this year.

“The Battle Cry of Freedom” was written during the Civil War, and sung by Union troops going into battle. This video pays tribute to Ulysses Grant, the General most responsible for winning the war for the Union. Elected President of the U.S. in 1868 and re-elected in 1872, U.S. Grant vigorously enforced federal civil rights laws to protect the freedmen. Not until Lyndon Johnson in 1963–69 would an American President work with such determination for civil rights. After leaving the White House, Grant served as the 8th President of the National Rifle Association.

The National Rifle Association’s brief in McDonald v. Chicago quoted President Grant:

Subsequently, President Grant issued a report on enforcement of the Civil Rights Act which noted that parts of the South were under the sway of the Klan, which sought “to deprive colored citizens of the right to bear arms,” and to reduce them “to a condition closely akin to that of slavery * * *.” Ex. Doc. No. 268, 42nd Cong., 2d Sess., 2 (1872).

The brief  likewise quoted a report from General Grant about the conditions in Mississippi which had helped convince Congress of the necessity of the Fourteenth Amendment, to make the Second Amendment applicable to all state and local governments:

“The statute prohibiting the colored people from bearing arms, without a special license, is unjust, oppressive, and unconstitutional.” Cong. Globe, 39th Cong., 2d Sess., 33 (1866).

McDonald v. Chicago brings the United States an important step closer to accomplishing a central purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment: making all of the Bill of Rights applicable to every state and local government in America. It was a national tragedy that the Supreme Court essentially nullified much of the Fourteenth Amendment for so long. It is a national blessing that America’s many civil rights organizations were able, over the long term, to revitalize the Fourteenth Amendment, and change the Supreme Court from a nullifier of the Amendment into an enforcer of the Amendment.