Dave Kopel on the Costs and Consequences of Gun Control

Today, the Cato Institute published a monograph by Dave Kopel titled "The Costs and Consequences of Gun Control."  It is a very thorough look at three of the so-called "common-sense" measures that President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and groups like Bloomberg's Everytown for Gun Safety point to as a remedy for mass shootings.  Kopel looks at "universal" background checks, a ban on so-called high-capacity magazines, and a ban on the equally misnamed assault weapons. He describes why all three are misguided and explains why none of them will prevent mass shootings. Kopel notes in his introduction to the paper that policymakers instead can take some steps to incapacitate certain mentally ill persons who are potentially violent. He also reminds us that "it would be wrong not to acknowledge that gun laws often cannot stop a person bent on murder", and it is futile for policymakers to pretend otherwise. The monograph is a must read for pro-rights advocates who wish to counter the claims of the gun ban crowd.

Update:  On Wednesday, Kopel spoke with Cam Edwards of NRANews.com about the monograph.

Why Yesterday's Decision in Peruta V. San Diego is Important

National Review's Jim Geraghty has a piece this morning that goes to the heart of yesterday's decision with some help from the Cato Institute's Walter Olson.  After sharing some of Olson's analysis, Geraghty notes:

We’ve had a generation or two of lawmakers – at first in both parties, then increasingly concentrated in the Democratic Party – who believed that the Second Amendment was optional. Increasingly, courts are informing them otherwise.

And it is interesting to note that the two judges on the side of gun owners are Clinton appointees.  If judges on the infamous 9th Circuit get this, how long before other circuits who have ruled against gun owners on the same issue of carrying outside the home will come around to this way of thinking? Heller figured prominently in the decision released yesterday.  California Second Amendment attorney Chuck Michel also talked about the importance of the case with Cam Edwards on NRANews' Cam and Company yesterday.