Heller, Guns, and History: The Judicial Invention of Tradition

Northeastern University Law Journal, Vol. 3, p. 175, 2011

Washington University in St. Louis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 12-05-25

25 Pages Posted: 11 Jun 2012

See all articles by David Konig

David Konig

Washington University in St. Louis - School of Law

Date Written: June 11, 2012

Abstract

It is a widely accepted fact that the firearm mortality rate in the United States exceeds that of any comparable nation. This article explores why, from a historical perspective, the United States permits widespread private use of firearms and how gun violence has been framed as a product of cultural tradition. It is not the purpose of this article to question the historical existence of such violence, which is overwhelming, but to question its historical normativity – that is, to ask why our culture has permitted this violence. As a descriptive matter, such violence has become a tradition; as a normative matter, by contrast, it is very much an invented tradition. What is invented, that is, is not the fact of its existence, but rather its elevation to a normative status which distorts the past and grants this tradition constitutional acknowledgment. What once was a regrettable and embarrassing fact of life has become a widely accepted, and often admired tradition.

Keywords: Second amendment, guns, legal history, invented tradition, District of Columbia v. Heller, Johnson v. Mc’Intosh, Dred Scott v. Sandford

Suggested Citation

Konig, David, Heller, Guns, and History: The Judicial Invention of Tradition (June 11, 2012). Northeastern University Law Journal, Vol. 3, p. 175, 2011, Washington University in St. Louis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 12-05-25, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2081973

David Konig (Contact Author)

Washington University in St. Louis - School of Law ( email )

Campus Box 1120
St. Louis, MO 63130
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
144
Abstract Views
927
Rank
364,703
PlumX Metrics