Anti-Evasion Doctrines and the Second Amendment
20 Pages Posted: 13 Aug 2014
Date Written: August 11, 2014
Abstract
This article, written for a symposium on the Second Amendment, examines recent lower court decisions for evidence that courts are -- or are not -- creating and applying "anti-evasion doctrines" (AEDs) in Second Amendment cases. Such doctrines prevent form-over-substance evasion of constitutional principles on the part of government actors. Early evidence suggests that courts are willing to employ AEDs to frustrate legislative efforts to nullify the core of the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense in the home recognized in Heller and McDonald.
Keywords: anti-evasion doctrines, political safeguards, Second Amendment, right to keep and bear arms
JEL Classification: K1, K19
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation