Mass Shootings and Guns: Examining the Court’s Interpretation of the Right to Bear Arms and the Consequences of Gun Laws in the US

Stanford Legal

In this episode, Pam Karlan and Rich Ford explore recent 2nd Amendment Supreme Court cases, the evolution of gun laws, and the implications of increased gun accessibility in the U.S. Joined by John Donohue, an empirical researcher who is an expert on firearms and the law, they discuss the proliferation of guns and automatic weapons, which make the US an outlier among Western countries for its mass killings, and the ways in which gun laws have made the U.S. more deadly—including for law enforcement.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction
Pam Karlan introduces the episode, highlighting the recent surge in mass shootings in the US, and introduces this week’s guest, John Donahue, one of the nation’s leading experts on firearms and the law.

(00:01:16) Proliferation & Access to Assault Weapons in America
The impact of the termination of the federal assault weapon ban in 2004 on mass shootings and a comparison to other nations restrictions on these weapons.

(00:05:07) Supreme Court and the Rahimi Case
Analyzing the Rahimi case and its implications regarding the possession of weapons under restraining orders and the Supreme Court's evolving stance on gun rights.

(00:06:37) The Gun Lobby & the Republican Party
Exploring the relationship between the gun lobby, manufacturers, and republicans and the effects this evolving relationship has had since the mid nineties.

(00:13:10) Constitutional Shifts
The transformation in Second Amendment interpretations from the 1930s to the recent Bruen case, exploring the Supreme Court's methodology and its implications for gun regulations and the Rahimi decision before them now.

(00:15:40) Frozen Interpretations
The historical context of the Second Amendment, the oddity of freezing it, and how the current context challenges the applicability of historical Second Amendment interpretations.

(00:19:05) Broader Implications
The broader spectrum of issues stemming from the proliferation of access to firearms and the growing lethality of weaponry, including rising firearm-related suicides and homicides.

(00:24:05) Bruen & Gun Laws
The effect of the Bruen case on laws like restraining immediate access to weapons, and safe storage laws

(00:26:08) Law Enforcement & Gun Proliferation
John explains how the proliferation and of firearms has affected the polices ability to clear violent crimes, and increases police involved shootings

(00:28:31) Conclusion