Professor Nelson Lund and Professor Lawrence Rosenthal discuss the right to bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This provision, however, is not without controversy. In the wake of mass shootings across the country, recent federal and state bills have attempted to limit an individual’s ability to own or buy certain kinds of weapons. This program furthers a national conversation over the balance between individual rights and domestic security.
Nelson Lund has written widely in the field of constitutional law. He has also published essays on employment discrimination and civil rights, the legal regulation of medical ethics, and the application of economic analysis to legal institutions and legal ethics. He holds an M.A. in philosophy from the Catholic University of America and a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University. Professor Lund attended the University of Chicago School of Law, where he served as executive editor of its law review and chapter chairman of the Federalist Society. He clerked for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Patrick Higginbotham and for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. At George Mason, he teaches Constitutional Law, Legislation, Employment Discrimination, State and Local Government, and seminars on the Second Amendment.
Lawrence Rosenthal has written extensively on first amendment issues, criminal law, criminal procedure, and civil rights. He continues to engage in litigation in the United States Supreme Court and other appellate courts, usually on a pro bono basis. At Harvard Law School he was the articles editor of its law review. He clerked for Judge Prentice Marshall of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and for Justice John Paul Stevens. Professor Rosenthal served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, specializing in organized crime and public corruption prosecutions. At Chapman University, he teaches Civil Rights, Constitutional Argument, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Local Government Law.