Guns/Second Amendment

Professor Bogus has written and spoken extensively on the topics of gun control and the Second Amendment.

Here are links to some of his notable works.

"The Hidden History of the Second Amendment" - 31 U.C. Davis Law Review 309 (1998)
This article argues that James Madison wrote the Second Amendment to assure his constituents in Virginia, and the South as a whole, that the federal government could not disarm the state militia, which were the prime instruments for slave control in the South.The article is also available from the U.C. Davis Law Review website here.
 
An op-ed size version of the "Hidden History" thesis described above.
 
"The Hard, Simple Truth About Gun Control" - in Guns in Law (Austin Sarat, et al., eds., Amherst Series, University of Massachusetts Press 2019)
Gun control can be extremely effective at significantly reducing homicides, suicides, and gun-related robberies, assaults, and injuries. There is substantial evidence supporting that conclusion. However, the simple, hard truth is that only one form of gun control has been shown to be effective – namely, anything that significantly reduces the number of handguns in general circulation. The implications of that argument are enormous.
 
"Gun Control and America's Cities: Public Policy and Politics" - 1 Albany Government Law Review 440 (2008)
This article argues that data suggest that the only form of gun control that may be effective in reducing gun-related crime are measures that reduce the numbers of handguns in general circulation.
 
"Heller and Insurrectionism" - 59 Syracuse Law Review 255 (2008)
This article pleads with the Supreme Court to repudiate insurrectionism -- the supposed right of Americans to be armed to go to war with the own government -- as a rationale for the individual right to bear arms.
 
 
 
"How Gun Control Got Murdered" - The American Prospect, August 30, 2011 (Review of Gunfight by Adam Winkler)
 
Other writings from Professor Bogus on the subjects of gun control or the Second Amendment, available through libraries or paid services such as Westlaw and Lexis/Nexis, are listed on his CV, posted on the Bio section of this website.
 
Here is a podcast for an episode of DecodeDC entitled "The Scary Link Between Slavery and the Second Amendment: What you don't know about how the Second Amendment came to be." The host is journalist Jimmy Williams; his guest is Professor Bogus. The podcast was originally posted by DecodeDC on August 4, 2016.
 
Here is a debate between Professor Bogus and Professor Michael O'Shea on the question "Resolved: The Second Amendment Protects the Individual's Right to Own and Carry a Gun." The debate was moderated by Jeffrey Rosen and sponsored by the National Constitution Center, the American Constitution Society, and the Federalist Society. It was held in Chicago on November 19, 2015.
 
Here is the podcast for an episode of the BBC program The Inquiry devoted to the topic "How Has the US Gun Lobby Been So Successful?" featuring Professor Bogus and three other experts, broadcast by the BBC World Service on January 26, 2016.
 
Here is a link to Season 3 (Gun Violence in America) of the podcast In Sickness and in Health with Dr. Celine Gounder. Episode 2 includes interview segments with Professor Bogus.