GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2016
Status
Accepted
Abstract
This article addresses the debate on the Second Amendment and what national policy or policies there should be on gun control and gun ownership. Robert J. Cottrol and George A. Moscary review the historical-constitutional debates and the attempt to establish decidedly revisionist accounts of the nature of the American right to arms. Cottrol and Moscary review the jurisprudential debates of the Second Amendment exploring the three eras: post-Civil War, post-National Firearms Act of 1934, and after the Supreme Court's decision in Heller. The article looks critically at how firearms and gun owners have been demonized and the increase in the overcriminalization of gun ownership and possession caused by confusion in various state statutes and laws.
GW Paper Series
GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2019-28; GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2019-28
SSRN Link
https://ssrn.com/abstract=3402487
Recommended Citation
Cottrol, Robert J. and Mocsary, George A., Guns, Bird Feathers, and Overcriminalization: Why Courts Should Take the Second Amendment Seriously (2016). Robert Cottrol & George Moscary, Guns, Bird Feathers, and Overcriminalization: Why Courts Should Take the Second Amendment Seriously, 14 Geo. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 17 (2016).; GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2019-28; GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2019-28. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3402487