- Publication Date
- November 18, 2021
- Citation
- David B. Kopel, Christopher Little
- Keywords
- gun prohibition, Communitarian Network, Second Amendment
- Abstract
- In a lengthy position paper, The Case for Domestic Disarmament, the Communitarian Network presents a forceful law-and-policy case for a gun-free America. This Article evaluates and responds to Domestic Disarmament and the Communitarian Network's gun prohibition agenda. In addition to discussing Domestic Disarmament, this Article considers David C. Williams's Civic Republicanism and the Citizen Militia: The Terrifying Second Amendment, which calls for a somewhat different communitarian approach to gun policy. Williams argues that (1) the Second Amendment poses no impediment to any form of gun control on individuals, and (2) in the long term, the government should revive the "well regulated Militia"' and encourage citizen proficiency with arms and participation in communal defense organizations. Part I of this Article provides an overview of communitarianism and the Communitarian Network and summarizes the argument of Domestic Disarmament. Part II inquires into whether domestic disarmament is enforceable and what communitarian problems may be raised by enforceability issues. Part III sketches a variety of possible solutions to the American gun dilemma, including the communitarian militia proposals of Williams." Part IV briefly reviews the contribution that firearms ownership may make to public safety, and Part V closely scrutinizes Domestic Disarmament's conclusion that the Second Amendment presents no barrier to firearms confiscation.
- Recommended Citation
- Kopel, David B. and Kopel, David B. and Little, Christopher, Communitarians Neorepublicans and Guns Assessing the Case for Firearms Prohibition (September 24, 1997). Maryland Law Review, Vol. 56, No. 2, 1997, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3930385
