I always appreciate when a nickname captures a person’s true self. Take Cameron “Crazy Gun” Watkins, for instance. The OakTree Inn & Suites in Oklahoma City is now permanently closed. It’s reviews online weren’t great so you probably haven’t missed out. Tripadvisor ranked it 181 out of 182 hotels in OKC. (I don’t know which hotel […]
A man brazenly robbed a casino in Las Vegas last month and fled on a bicycle. Ocean’s 11, he’s not! To help answer some questions about the law in Nevada, I joined Latoya Silmon to discuss “open carry.”
He’s No Ocean’s 11! Read More »
Open Source Defense is one of my favorite substacks to read. A lot of interesting and insightful commentary for the pro-2A crowd. I’ve privately shared various posts with friends and colleagues (across the political spectrum) when they were relevant to a particular discussion or issue. This specific OSD post highlights apparent absurdity in federal firearms
I’ve always been a proud West Virginian so I was particularly upset to learn that the National Guard soldiers ambushed in DC were from my home state. On Thanksgiving day, I joined a panel hosted by Christina Ruffini to discuss preliminary details of this despicable crime. I spoke about the law of firearms and foreign-born
National Guard Ambush Read More »
I ate SO MUCH turkey on Thanksgiving! Did I use a weapon to do it? That’s (sorta) the question the Oregon Supreme Court addressed in an opinion this week. Anthony Richard Cortes is homeless. (Or “houseless” or “unhoused” if you’re the Oregon Supreme Court.) He was also on probation so he had to meet with
Dangerous to Turkeys Read More »
I debated whether to start this post with the porn…or Andy Griffith. Mayberry won. I’ve always loved The Andy Griffith Show. There are so many classic episodes! (Did you know Barney Fife carried a machinegun in an episode? I’m saving that one for a future post.) One of the best episodes was the “Citizen’s Arrest”
I know a lot of slang terms for firearms: gat, heater, strap, piece, jammy, roscoe, iron, chopper, smoke wagon, hog leg. Those are just the ones I can come up with off the top of my head from my own experience. If I Google it, I find a couple more I’ve heard before, like boom
Gun crime feels like a modern problem. Some days it dominates headlines. But one of my favorite aspects of studying the law is its history, and it reveals that crimes committed with firearms are nothing new. The earliest case we cover in my Second Amendment class at William S. Boyd School of Law, University of
Want to sell some illegal machinegun conversion devices? You should’ve done it yesterday. That’s because the United States Sentencing Commission’s 2025 amendments take effect today, and one of the most notable changes involves “MCDs.” The USSC was responsive to concerns over the proliferation of illegal machineguns and added a new section to §2K2.1 that will
USSC 2025 Amendments Read More »
The arrest described in this NY Post article presents an opportunity to highlight a subtle distinction in federal criminal law. The story notes that this defendant faces state charges for “certain persons forbidden,” which is the unique way Alabama labels people prohibited from possessing firearms. (See AL Code § 13A-11-72.) That statute includes a wide
No Body Armor for Violent Felons Read More »
