LAW 580 - The Second Amendment

The Second Amendment: Recent Supreme Court decisions have ushered in a new era of Second Amendment interpretation, litigation, and politics. This course examines the constitutional text, history, and precedents relating to the Second Amendment. Students will learn about the recognition of an individual right to keep and bear arms, the scope of the right in terms of who may exercise it, where arms can be carried, and which arms may be possessed. The course also covers the intersection between Second Amendment and other constitutional rights, statutory protections of the right to keep and bear arms, the concept of Second Amendment sanctuaries, and imposition of civil liability for firearms-related harm on gun manufacturers, governments and government officials, websites, and parents. Students who take this course will be able to assess the constitutionality of modern firearms regulations and address various other arms-related legal and policy questions.