Professor Larson Comments on Right to Bear Arms for KQED
Professor Carlton Larson commented on the history of the constitutional right to bear arms for a news program on KQED examining potential changes in city and state powers to regulate firearms in the wake of recent Supreme Court decisions. The program, an episode of Forum with Michael Krasny, offered differing perspectives on possible ramifications of the landmark Supreme Court decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago.
Professor Larson detailed the histories of the Second and Fourteenth Amendments, and said that the decisions in Heller and McDonald had left unclear many questions regarding the rights of states and local governments to regulate gun ownership.
"I think one thing one can say for McDonald is that it's very much a stimulus package for gun lawyers and lawyers for city governments around the country," he said. "There's going to be a lot of work here... The Court has not given us any guidance at all."
Professor Larson is a legal scholar whose research interests focus on constitutional law and legal history, with a strong emphasis on the 18th century.