Episode 46: To Heller and Back

November 17, 2021

Professor Amar takes you through the 2nd and 14th amendments and using that, provides an analysis of the Supreme Court’s current gun case, Bruen.

Now that our audience are masters of rights analysis after last week’s overview and framework presentation, we turn to the current SCOTUS gun rights case, New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. Consistent with Professor Amar’s approach, we begin with the text of the 2nd and 14th Amendments, along with a fascinating historical analysis.  When that is complete, the questions the Justices asked during oral argument take on a whole new meaning, both in seeing clearly the points they were emphasizing, and perhaps in some cases, those they were missing.