2026-08-01 · originalism
Lysander Spooner: Unconstitutional Statutes Are Void
An officer who attempts to enforce an unconstitutional statute acts without legal authority and may be resisted like any other trespasser. His commission is no protection.
Scholarship
2026-08-01 · principles
The Oath Requires Refusal, Not Enforcement
Officials who swore an oath to support the Constitution are not merely permitted to refuse unconstitutional gun laws — they are required to oppose them. Enforcement is a violation of the oath.
2026-08-01 · originalism
There Is No Founding-Era Tradition of Asking Permission
Free Americans in the founding era did not ask the government for permission to keep and bear arms. The Second Amendment was written to forbid the government from requiring it.
2026-08-01 · originalism
Jefferson on the Commercial Right to Make and Sell Arms
In 1793 Thomas Jefferson affirmed that American citizens had always been free to manufacture, sell, and export arms — and that the government had no authority to suppress that calling merely because a foreign war existed.
2026-08-01 · originalism
Federalist 28: The Original Right of Self-Defense
Hamilton recognized that when representatives betray their constituents, the people retain an original right of self-defense that is paramount to all positive forms of government.
2026-07-15 · principles
Peaceful Noncompliance: The Foundational Weapon of Liberty
The American tradition of refusing to obey void and unconstitutional acts is not rebellion against lawful authority — it is fidelity to the higher law.