Back From Washington, DC

Back From Washington, DC

The Cato Institute held a brunch to thank those of us who played important roles in the D.C. v. Heller (2008) case. While not everyone who was invited could make it, it was still a pretty impressive collection of gun rights scholars and lawyers in one room. Off the top of my head: Stephen Halbrook; Prof. Eugene Volokh of UCLA Law; Prof. Nelson Lund of George Mason University; Prof. Bob Cottroll of George Washington University; Nicholas Johnson of Fordham University Law; William Van Alstyne; C. Kevin Marshall; Dave Kopel; Bob Dowlut; Alan Gura, and a few others that I can't immediately name. At my table (excuse me, that's sounds egotistical, at the table at which I was sitting) Robert Levy, who bankrolled the suit; Don Kates; Dave Hardy; Sandra Froman, former President of the NRA; Prof. Dan Polsby of George Mason.

There was considerable discussion of strategy and upcoming actions; obviously, I'm not going to publicly reveal the details. But the good news is that there is a strong chance that we are going to win the Nordyke case in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals--where our lawyers are arguing that the 14th Amendment incorporates the 2nd Amendment against the states--opening up the door to demolishing some of the most absurd gun control laws adopted at the state and local levels.

I absolutely hate flying--and this as bad as it gets: seven hours in planes and airports to get there, and another seven to get back. So was it worth it? Dave Kopel and I crashed the Federalist Society reception, and I got to meet a number of interesting people. To my surprise, John Fund of the Wall Street Journal knew who I was! It almost makes me feel important!

More importantly, one law professor expressed interest in seeing if Armed America might be a good text for an upcoming class that he is teaching; another wanted to see the manuscript for my next book, because deinstitutionalization is a subject of great interest to him. Doors open sometimes if you are in the right place.

I wasn't feeling great when I left for this event, and I was when I returned that I have a sinus infection. The good news, however, is that my blood pressure this morning was 124/84, and my pulse was 64. Whatever the deficiencies of a microwaved diet might be over there in Bend, I am getting enough exercise to keep my cardiovascular system in good shape!