Before the U.S. Supreme Court in Castillo v. U.S. (2000)
“Stephen Halbrook is an attorney with extensive knowledge of the historical underpinnings of the Second Amendment and practical knowledge of litigating in this rapidly evolving area of law. His writings include topics as diverse as Gun Control in the Third Reich and The Founders’ Second Amendment, and he was heavily involved in Heller and McDonald.”
– U.S. District Judge Michael J. Reagan
Shepard v. Madigan, 2014 WL 4825592, *7 (S.D. Ill. 2014)
Supreme Court Practice
Practice Areas
Gun Control Act/National Firearms Act
- Firearm technical classifications
- ATF regulatory compliance
- FFL warning conferences, license denials,
and revocations - Forfeitures
- Legal disabilities and restoration of civil rights
- Criminal defense
State and Local Laws
- “Assault weapon” restrictions
- Legal status of firearms
- Challenging restrictions
Books
Congressional Testimony

Feinstein Semiauto Ban & Fix NICS
12-6-2017

Sportsmen’s Heritage & Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act
10-12-2017

Judge Sotomayor Nomination
Senate Judiciary Committee | 7-17-2009

Eric Holder Nomination
Senate Judiciary Committee | 1-16-2009
Scholarly Articles
“A Swiss Schuetzenfest: The World’s Largest Rifle Match,” Shooting Sports USA (Oct. 9, 2019).
“Taking Heller Seriously: Where Has the Roberts Court Been, and Where Is it Headed, on the Second Amendment?” 13 Charleston Law Review 175 (2018).
“Firearm Sound Moderators: Issues of Criminalization & the 2nd Amendment,” 46:1 Cumberland Law Review 33 (2016).
“Reality Check: The ‘Assault Weapon’ Fantasy & Second Amendment Jurisprudence,” 14 Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy 47 (2016).
“N.Y.’s Not So ‘SAFE’ Act,” 78 Albany L. Rev. 789 (2015).
Op-Eds & Short Articles
“Recalling the Tragic History of Gun Control,” The American Spectator, Sept. 4, 2019.
“Gun Control: The Kristallnacht Version Of ‘Common-Sense Safety’,” Investor’s Business Daily, Nov. 15, 2018.
“Some of the world’s most powerful banks push policies circumventing Constitution and federal laws,” Los Angles Times, Sept. 13, 2018.
“The Second Amendment had nothing to do with slavery,” Fox News, June 22, 2018.
“Time for a History Lesson About Gun Control,” TownHall, June 22, 2018.
“Justice Stevens’s Second Amendment Pipe Dream,” National Review Online, April 18, 2018.
“Repeal the second amendment?” Washington Times, March 1, 2018.
“Blame for Parkland rests with local school officials and FBI ineptitude,” Sacramento Bee, Feb. 28, 2018.
TV Appearances

Does the Right to Bear Arms Include a Right to Carry Handguns in Public?
Federalist Society, Washington, D.C. | 1-15-2019

Assault Weapons or Assault on the Constitution?
Federalist Society, Long Island | 4-24-2018

What Does "Well-Regulated Militia" Mean?
Fox Business | 10-15-2014
Nazi Gun Control
Newsmax TV | 10-16-2014
2nd Amendment Rights
The Daily Ledger | 12-23-2013
Radio Interviews
“The U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Sandy Hook Families’ Lawsuit against Remington Arms” – Lawyer 2 Lawyer Podcast (November 2019)
“Supreme Court Moves Forward on Huge Second Amendment Case” – Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co Podcast (October 2019)
Die Waffe als Teil der Identität, Deutschlandfunk (May 2019)
Common Sensei, Laura Rosen Cohen – Podcast on Gun Control in 3rd Reich (May 2019)
Podcast on the Second Amendment from the Duncan School of Law (February 2019)
In the Rabbit Hole Urban Survival Podcast (September 2018)
Liberty Watch Radio (August 2018)
“Out of Order” Podcast (August 2018)
Instagram Updates
"Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk....
Dec 13

"Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person.” -- Fred Bear
Photo: Fred Bear and Jim Henderson, hunting in Ontario Canada in 1943.
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#fredbear #jimhenderson #fredbearquotes #huntingquotes #getoutdoors #whatgetsyououtdoors #bearhunting #hunt #hunting #righttohunt #righttobeararms #rtkba #rtba #gamehunting #huntinglife #hunter #huntingisfun #outdoorlife #sportsman #outdoorsman #canadahunting #wildlife #outdoorsforthesoul #refreshyourmind #respectnature #outdoorexperience #famoushunters #hunting_photo #hunters #fieldhunting
The ultimate purpose of gun registration is confiscation. "In February 1933, Nazi chief Hermann Göring, in his capacity...
Dec 12

The ultimate purpose of gun registration is confiscation. "In February 1933, Nazi chief Hermann Göring, in his capacity as Prussian minister of the interior, ordered the regional governments of Prussia to submit registration lists of all firearm license holders. The purpose was to revoke licenses held by political enemies and to confiscate their firearms. . . . Throughout the accounts on records kept in Brandenburg, each individual gun owner's political attitude and reliability was evaluated in conjunction with the 'need' for a firearm. There was no presumed right to keep, much less to bear, arms and no reservation about the use of political labels in deciding whether to authorize or prohibit individual gun ownership." From Gun Control in the Third Reich, p. 69.
Photo: Hermann Göring on Time magazine cover, 1933.
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#europeanhistory #nazihistory #thirdreich #thirdreichhistory #WWIIhistory #nazigermany #Göring #reichsjägermeister #hermanngoring #hermangoering #nazi #reichstaghistory #nazichief #ww2history #guncontrolinthethirdreich #1933 #gunregistration #firearmregistration #prussia #gunconfiscation #firearmslicense #gunowner #gunowners #rtkba #politicalenemies #selfdefense #gunregistrationlist #learnfromhistory #timemagazinecover #timemagazine
Section 13 of the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776 states: "That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of...
Dec 11

Section 13 of the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776 states: "That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power." Virginia's Declaration was written by American statesman George Mason, and adopted by the Virginia Constitutional Convention on June 12, 1776. Thomas Jefferson drew upon this document in writing the opening paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence and other colonies copied it for their own Bills of Rights. (For more details, see The Founders' Second Amendment.) George Mason was born on this day in 1725.
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#georgemason #thomasjefferson #virginiadeclarationofrights #1776 #keepandbeararms #revolutionarywar #patriots #2ahistory #ushistory #americanhistory #militia #billofrights #gunrights #constitutionalrights #thefounderssecondamendment #2a #2ndamendment #rtkba #righttobeararms #foundingfathersquote #americanfounders #colonialamerica #uspatriot #individualrights #historybuff #revolutionaryhistory #greatmeninhistory #welltrainedmilitia #onthisday #onthisdate
"The great body of our citizens shoot less as times goes on. We should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys, and ...
Dec 10

"The great body of our citizens shoot less as times goes on. We should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys, and indeed among all classes, as well as in the military services by every means in our power. Thus, and not otherwise, may we be able to assist in preserving peace in the world... The first step – in the direction of preparation to avert war if possible, and to be fit for war if it should come – is to teach men to shoot!" – President Theodore Roosevelt.
On this day in 1906, Roosevelt became the first American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. (For negotiating peace in the 1904-5 Russo-Japanese war and also for arbitrating a dispute with Mexico.) Photo: Theodore Roosevelt, 1909
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#presidentteddyroosevelt #theodoreroosevelt #teddyroosevelt #teddyrooseveltquote #theodorerooseveltquotes #rifle #riflepractice
#2a #2amendment #rtkba #righttobeararms #historybuff #progun #1906 #schoolboy #selfdefense #marksman #citizensinarms #onthisday #onthisdate #preservepeace #teachmentoshoot #teachshooting #shootinglessons #nobelpeaceprize #russojapanesewar #shootmore #militaryservices #learntoshoot #onthisdayinhistory
"A man's rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box." - Frederick ...
Dec 9

"A man's rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box." - Frederick Douglass
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#frederickdouglass #frederickdouglassquotes #blackhistory #blackwriters #blackrightsmatter #righttovote #13thamendment #14thamendment #rtkba #righttokeepandbeararms #rtba #righttobeararms #2a #2ndamendment #citizenrights #citizensrights #ballotbox #cartridgebox #ushistory #americanhistory #orator #abolitionist #americanslavery #writer #statesman #reconstruction #freedmen #firearmrights #civilrights #blackmanwithagun
Slavery and involuntary servitude were abolished by the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on this date in 1865. ...
Dec 6

Slavery and involuntary servitude were abolished by the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on this date in 1865. However, even though ex-slaves were granted citizenship, they did not automatically receive rights such as the right to bear arms. It would take the passing of the 14th Amendment, 3 years later, for the ex-slaves right to bear arms, and other fundamental rights, to be safeguarded. To read more on this topic, see my book Securing Civil Rights: Freedmen, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Right to Bear Arms.
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#13thamendment #firearmrights #securingcivilrights #freedmen #blackgunrights #gunrights #2a #rtkba #righttobeararms #constitutionalright #selfdefense #blackmanwithagun #rtba #blackhistory #civilrights #billofrights #americanhistory #14thamendment #civilwarreconstruction #onthisday #onthisdate #armedblackman #blackrightsmatter #blackhistory #civilrights #gunrights #ushistory #1865 #slavery #americanslavery
"The laws of the ancient English kings proscribed violent acts with arms, from brandishing to murder, but recognized as ...
Dec 5
!["The laws of the ancient English kings proscribed violent acts with arms, from brandishing to murder, but recognized as rightful the mere possession and carrying of arms. The laws of Alfred (871-899) prohibited fighting or drawing a weapon in the king's hall, lending a weapon with evil intent to another for purposes of murder, the use of a sword polisher of another's weapon to commit a crime, and disturbing a public meeting by drawing a weapon. The Laws of Cnut (1020-1023) not only considered armed self-defense a right and duty, fining those who failed to follow the hue and and cry, but also directed that 'if anyone illegally disarms a man, he is [to] compensate him with healsfang, a fine. Unlike later feudal game legislation, under Cnut 'every man is to be entitled to his hunting in wood and field on his own land.' " From That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right, pgs. 37-38.
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#rtkba #rkba #englishcommonlaw #kingalfred #kingalfredthegreat #alfredthegreat #englishking #englishkings #ancientengland #weaponlaw #weaponlaws #righttocarry #righttobeararms #firearmslaws #2ahistory #thateverymanbearmed #armedpopulace #armedcitizen #englishhistory #britishhistory #firearmslawhistory #ancientenglish #sword #beararms #constitutionalrights #cnut #kingcnut #cnutthegreat #armedfreeman #armedfreemen](https://www.stephenhalbrook.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png)
"The laws of the ancient English kings proscribed violent acts with arms, from brandishing to murder, but recognized as rightful the mere possession and carrying of arms. The laws of Alfred (871-899) prohibited fighting or drawing a weapon in the king's hall, lending a weapon with evil intent to another for purposes of murder, the use of a sword polisher of another's weapon to commit a crime, and disturbing a public meeting by drawing a weapon. The Laws of Cnut (1020-1023) not only considered armed self-defense a right and duty, fining those who failed to follow the hue and and cry, but also directed that 'if anyone illegally disarms a man, he is [to] compensate him with healsfang, a fine. Unlike later feudal game legislation, under Cnut 'every man is to be entitled to his hunting in wood and field on his own land.' " From That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right, pgs. 37-38.
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#rtkba #rkba #englishcommonlaw #kingalfred #kingalfredthegreat #alfredthegreat #englishking #englishkings #ancientengland #weaponlaw #weaponlaws #righttocarry #righttobeararms #firearmslaws #2ahistory #thateverymanbearmed #armedpopulace #armedcitizen #englishhistory #britishhistory #firearmslawhistory #ancientenglish #sword #beararms #constitutionalrights #cnut #kingcnut #cnutthegreat #armedfreeman #armedfreemen
"Any woman who does not thoroughly enjoy tramping across the country on a clear frosty morning with a good gun and a ...
Dec 4

"Any woman who does not thoroughly enjoy tramping across the country on a clear frosty morning with a good gun and a pair of dogs does not know how to enjoy life." - Annie Oakley was shooting and hunting by the age of 8 to help support her siblings and widowed mother. She later toured as a sharpshooter & exhibition shooter with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. It was a pleasure seeing both a shotgun and pistol that once belonged to her, at NRA's National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia. Buffalo Bill gave Annie this F. Hambrusch 12 gauge shotgun in 1890. The embellished pistol is a Stevens Offhand Target .22 single shot.
Photo credit goes to my daughter Lisa.
#annieoakley #littlemisssureshot #littlemissy #phoebeannmosey #littlesureshot #12gauge #12gaugeshotgun #stevens22 #singleshot #exhibitionshooter #shotgun #pistol #womenshistory #sharpshooter #oldwest #wildwest #oldwest #buffalobill #buffalobillswildwestshow #americanwest #NRAmuseum #NRAmuseums #firearm #firearms #firearmsphotography #womenoftheamericanwest #embellishedguns #getoutside #outdoorswoman #huntingdogs