Switzerland and the U.S. share a common heritage. Both have been from their beginnings independent republics. The births of the Swiss Confederation in 1291 and the United States in 1776 are extraordinary episodes in history in which peoples banded together to win their freedom. Despite today`s vast difference in size and population, Swiss local democracy is a kind of template of American local democracy. That is why Switzerland and the United States, despite occasional bumps on the road, will inalterably remain Sister Republics.

"Massive state terrorism during World War II had to be confronted and resisted by any means at hand. Like the Americans, the Swiss had their own `Greatest Generation,` and it included all of those who were ready to lay down their lives had the Nazi armies come over the border. How exactly tiny Switzerland stood down the Nazi monolith is a lesson worth remembering in the annals of history."

From Halbrook, The Swiss and The Nazis: How the Alpine Republic Survived in the Shadow of the Third Reich, p. 306.
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#wwiihistory #Swisshistory #swissarmywwii #theswissandthenazis #armedneutrality ...

I was interviewed by Alex Ooley of The Forge of Freedom ( @theforgeoffreedom ) at the recent NRA Annual Meeting in Texas. From Alex`s summary: "Constitutional scholar and Second Amendment expert, Stephen Halbrook, joins Alex Ooley for an in-depth discussion on a major pending Supreme Court case involving the federal ban on firearm possession by unlawful users of controlled substances—particularly marijuana users. They break down the United States v. Hemani case, historical analogues under Bruen, as-applied vs. facial challenges, and what this means for gun rights moving forward. The conversation also covers other key Second Amendment issues percolating in the courts, including public carry restrictions and `assault weapon`/magazine bans."

The Forge of Freedom: Episode 206. Second Amendment vs. Federal Drug User Gun Ban Stephen Halbrook Breaks It Down (posted May 5, 2026).

Watch the interview on YouTube on "The Forge of Freedom" channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M7Oh0yqdDo
The interview is also on Rumble and Spotify podcasts and on TheForgeOfFreedom.com
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#2alitigation #2achallenge #USvHemani #alexooley #stephenhalbrook ...

"Evidently, a certain American tradition of civil disobedience to firearms prohibitions was well entrenched in 1775. ...General Gage issued a proclamation on June 19, 1775, two days after Bunker Hill, charging:

"`Whereas notwithstanding the repeated assurances of the selectmen and others, that all the inhabitants of the town of Boston had bona fide delivered their fire arms unto the persons appointed to receive them, though I had advices at the same time of the contrary, and whereas I have since had full proof that many had been perfidious in this respect, and have secreted great numbers: I have thought fit to issue this proclamation, to require of all persons who have yet fire arms in their possession immediately to surrender them at the court house, to such persons as shall be authorised to receive them; and hereby declare that all persons in whose possession any fire arms may hereafter be found, will be deemed enemies to his majesty`s government.`

"This was yet another proclamation declaring firearm owners to be `enemies to his majesty`s government.` Of course, Gage`s allegations that arms were being clandestinely retained were true. The surrender of arms voluntarily would have been considered highly unpatriotic, not to mention indiscreet for a person wishing only to be armed for self-protection...."

From Halbrook, The Founders` Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms, p. 98.

Image: "Colonial Militia Scout Two" by Randy Steele
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#generalgage #2ahistory #thefounderssecondamendment #turninyourguns #americanrevolution ...

"In 2024, the Final Report of the Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston [Maine] was released, faulting both the military and law enforcement for taking no action to disarm and hospitalize the killer.

"Before the Commission report was even released, the Maine legislature enacted a statute targeting any person who would buy a firearm: `Waiting Period. A seller may not knowingly deliver a firearm to a buyer pursuant to an agreement sooner than 72 hours after the agreement.` As the timeline of events indicated, no relation existed between the perpetrator`s vile acts taking place six months earlier and the 72-hour firearm transfer waiting period.

"In Beckwith v. Frey, decided on April 3, the First Circuit reversed the district court`s issuance of a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the new law. ..."

"In the opinion for the court, Judge Seth Aframe held that `laws regulating the purchase or acquisition of firearms do not target conduct covered by the Second Amendment`s "plain text," which only "means to have and carry guns."` Since the law regulates activity that takes place before that, it is `outside the Second Amendment`s plain text.` Under that logic, nothing in the text of the Amendment would preclude a law that simply banned absolutely the delivery or transfer of a firearm from one person to another. One`s right to keep and bear arms does not imply a right to obtain them."

The above excerpts are from my latest Second Amendment Roundup blogpost, "A Tale of Two Waiting Periods" (5/6/26).
Read my whole post at reason.com/volokh or copy and paste this link: https://reason.com/volokh/2026/05/06/second-amendment-roundup-a-tale-of-two-waiting-periods/

Link can also be accessed through the home page of my website, stephenhalbrook.com
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#2aviolation #stephenhalbrook #secondamendmentroundup #nysrpavbruen #dcvheller #2acases ...

My article "How a Fake Citation Misled Courts to Uphold `Sensitive Place` Gun Bans" has now been published online by the Journal of Law & Civil Governance at Texas A&M at: https://jlcgtamu.com/volume-2-issue-2/

The following is from the beginning of the Abstract: "This article concerns how a fake citation has misled courts to uphold `sensitive place` gun bans. New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass`n v. Bruen held that the Second Amendment presumptively protects conduct covered by its plain text. A state must justify its restriction by showing it to be consistent with America`s historical tradition of firearm regulation. The original public understanding at the Founding is key to that question.

"Post-Bruen, courts have sought to uphold restrictions that ban firearms in various `sensitive places` based on a misunderstanding of the Founding-era offense of going armed in a manner that terrorized the public. Antonyuk v. James upheld New York`s place restrictions based on its claim that Founding-era Virginia and North Carolina laws banned going armed per se in fairs and markets. However, it conceded that Virginia only prohibited going armed `in terror of the Country,` but maintained that North Carolina had no such element of the offense, adding that place restrictions in the late 19th century followed the North Carolina model. That historical tradition of regulation, the Second Circuit held, justifies New York`s current law."

The above excerpts are from my Second Amendment Roundup blog post, "How a Fake Citation Misled Courts to Uphold `Sensitive Place` Gun Bans" (5/5/26). The direct link to the law review article is in this post.

Read the post at reason.com/volokh or copy and paste: https://reason.com/volokh/2026/05/05/second-amendment-roundup-how-a-fake-citation-misled-courts-to-uphold-sensitive-place-gun-bans/

Link can also be accessed through the home page of my website, stephenhalbrook.com
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#2amendmentandsensitiveplaces #nysrpavbruen #firearmslaw #secondamendmentroundup #stephenhalbrook ...

"Kentucky enacted the first restriction on carrying concealed weapons. It did so in 1813, an unlikely year in that the War of 1812 was being waged and the carrying of arms would have been commonplace and perhaps encouraged. Gun ownership was so pervasive that, when Kentucky volunteers arrived without rifles to help defend New Orleans from the British assault at the end of the war, Andrew Jackson famously said in astonishment: `I have never seen a Kentuckian without a gun and a pack of cards and a bottle of whiskey in my life.`"

From Halbrook, The Right to Bear Arms: A Constitutional Right of the People or a Privilege of the Ruling Class?, p. 219 (hardback edition).

Illustration: One Kentucky Rifleman at the Battle of New Orleans" by Andrew Knez Jr.
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#kentuckygunlaws #warof1812 #AndrewJackson #ccw #therighttobeararmshalbrook ...

"When, in 1967, proponents of more firearm restrictions criticized both the CMP and NRA, they would be reminded of the words of presidents and generals who knew better. President Harry S. Truman wrote: `During the war just ended, the contribution of the National Rifle Association in the matter of small-arms training aids, the nation-wide pre-induction training program, the recruiting of experienced small-arms instructors for all branches of the armed services and technical advice and assistance to Government civilian agencies aiding in the prosecution of the war—all contributed freely and without expense to the Government—have materially aided our war effort.`

"President John F. Kennedy, himself a World War II veteran, wrote to the NRA executive vice president: `Through competitive matches and sports in coordination with the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice, the [National Rifle] Association fills an important role in our national defense effort, and fosters in an active and meaningful fashion the spirit of the Minutemen. General George C. Marshall expressed his `appreciation for the service rendered the Army by the Association during World War II.` And General Omar N. Bradley, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote a guest editorial in the NRA’s American Rifleman magazine: `In training more than one and three quarters million Americans during World War II, and in providing instructors, instruction techniques and technical knowledge to the armed forces during that conflict, your organization made another great contribution to defense.`”

From Halbrook, America`s Rifle: The Case for the AR-15, pgs. 197-98.
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#presidenttruman #presidentkennedy #generalgeorgemarshall #generalomarbradley #AmericasRifleTheCaseForTheAR15 ...

Yikes! Hopefully this rifleman is a good shot.

"Horseman and Bear" by artist H.G. Edwards. This particular advertisement was featured on the 1922 Winchester Repeating Arms and Ammunition calendar.
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#winchesterrifle #winchesterleveraction #leveractionrifle #vintagegunads #winchestercalendar ...