Scholarship@WashULaw
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
Publication Title
William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal
Abstract
Constitutional rights depend on justifications. Some combination of theory, his- tory, and practical reasoning needs to establish why and to what extent a given right warrants legal protection. The justifications that courts and theorists articulate for a given right determine the right’s breadth and the specific contours of its protection. Justification has particular importance at the formative stage of a newly recognized constitutional right. At present, courts are building doctrine around the Second Amendment “right of the people to keep and bear Arms,”1 recognized as an individ- ual right just over a decade ago in District of Columbia v. Heller.2 Accordingly, this is an opportune time for considering what justifications might support that right.
Keywords
Free Speech, First Amendment, Second Amendment, Political Protests
Publication Citation
Gregory P. Magarian, Political and Non-Political Speech and Guns, 28 Wm. & Mary Bill Rts. J. 429 (2019)
Repository Citation
Magarian, Gregory P., "Political and Non-Political Speech and Guns" (2019). Scholarship@WashULaw. 223.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_scholarship/223
Comments
Symposium:
Constitutional Rights: Intersections, Synergies, and Conflicts