FROM THE FRONTLINES [Dave Kopel]
A reader of my article about British government hostility toward
the right of self-defense offers some details about how bad things have
gotten:

“I’m an alumna of Pepperdine University, a school which proudly
owns a house/campus on Exhibition Road, literally across the street
from the Imperial University, in the middle of South Kensington, right
near Harrods, Hyde Park, the Albert Hall. Within two days of arriving
for our first semester in London, our relatively small [American] class
(37 students, 10 men, 27 women) was visited by a local police officer to
instruct us on living in London. Her first question was to the women,
‘How many of you brought mace?’ Three girls raised their hands.
She told us we couldn’t use it, shouldn’t even carry it, it was illegal.

“Had any of us brought any other type of weapon, such as a knife?
Several of the men in our group indicated that they carried pocket
knives. She told us to leave them at home too.

“Then she instructed us on how to properly be a victim. If we were
attacked, we were to assume a defensive posture, such as raising
our hands to block an attack. The reason was (and she spelled it
out in no uncertain terms) that if a witness saw the incident and
we were to attempt to defend ourselves by fighting back, the
witness would be unable to tell who the aggressor was. However,
if we rolled up in a ball, it would be quite clear who the victim was.

“The feeling I got was, in London, it is not permissible to defend oneself.
I also understood that this police officer thought Americans were more
likely to be aggressive and/or cause more damage to a potential attacker.
She was warning us for our own good. I have to admit, she did not make
me feel particularly safe.”

GUNS & NAACP RULING [Dave Kopel]
The jury has reached a verdict in the NAACP suit against the firearms
industry. The plaintiffs have failed on every count. Thirty-eight of the
industry defendants were unanimously found not liable by the 12-person
jury. Seven other defendants were found not liable by 10 or 11 members
of the jury. For 23 other defendants, the jury could not reach a verdict.
The jury is an “advisory jury,” and Brooklyn federal judge Jack Weinstein
is free to accept or reject any of the jury’s findings within the next 30 days.

In the Seton Hall Legislative Journal,
http://www.davekopel.com/2A/LawRev/Protecting_the_Second_Amendment_from_Civil_Abuse.htm
I argued that the Second Amendment should be protected from abusive
lawsuits just as the First Amendment is protected from libel lawsuits
which might interfere with a free press.