C.J. Ciaramella is a journalist who contributed to The Weekly Standard in 2009 and 2010, primarily covering Second Amendment issues including concealed carry legislation, gun rights court cases, and D.C. handgun laws. He is known for his reporting on criminal justice, civil liberties, and government transparency, and has served as a reporter at Reason magazine.
A little more than three years ago, Seung-Hui Cho entered a building at Virginia Tech, chained the doors shut and began shooting. He killed 32 people--the deadliest school shooting in United States history. The tragedy sparked a nationwide review of campus safety measures. Colleges began…
The First Circuit Court of Appeals in New England just handed down another horrible Second Amendment ruling, very similar to the ruling that recently came out of Georgia. In the case in question, the court ruled that a police officer acted appropriately when he not only detained a man for lawfully…
Last week a federal judge in Georgia ruled that legally carrying a concealed firearm is grounds for being detained by police. 

In the case in question, Christopher Raissi, who has a concealed carry license, was spotted by police holstering a firearm as he exited his car and headed toward a…
The petitioners in McDonald v. Chicago, the Supreme Court case challenging Chicago's handgun ban, filed their merits brief yesterday, and it's a doozy. Rather than just citing the well-established Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the brief invokes the long-dead Privileges and…
Today the Supreme Court agreed to rule on one of the challenges to Chicago's handgun ban -- an important ruling that will decide the scope and power of the Second Amendment. From SCOTUSblog, which has a detailed breakdown of all the cases the Court has chosen to hear for its coming session: The…
The Washington Post has an article today describing just how laborious and complicated it is to buy and register a handgun in the District of Columbia, even though handguns are now legal. For the assignment, reporter Christian Davenport went through the whole process, which consisted of: "$833.69,…
The Second Amendment Foundation, along with several individual plaintiffs, has filed a lawsuit challenging the District of Columbia's ban on carrying handguns in public. The Supreme Court struck down D.C.'s total ban on guns last year in District of Columbia v. Heller, affirming that the Second…
The Start Over caucus is growing: Rep. Mike Pence: I have seen in town hall meetings across Indiana, and I have three more scheduled, Republicans and some Democrats who had them have heard tremendous public concern about health care legislation that has been drafted in the House of Representatives.…
Today the AFSCME and AFL-CIO co-hosted a block party to celebrate the end of their "Highway to Health Care" summer tour, in which they sent an RV to 19 cities in 10 states to spread the good news of the Democrats' health care plan. One of my first impressions of the event in Washington, D.C. was,…
SCOTUSblog reports that the Supreme Court will consider hearing two cases challenging Chicago's handgun ban when it meets at its first Conference for the new term on Sept. 29. At issue is whether the Second Amendment applies to state and local laws or only federal laws. After D.C.'s handgun ban was…
Last week, there were several instances of protesters showing up outside of town hall meetings openly carrying firearms. Anti-gun activists and the media were flabbergasted not only at the audacity of the protesters, but that the carrying of firearms happened to be perfectly legal where it…
I received an email at my University of Oregon account today informing me that there are "intern opportunities with Organizing for America," formerly Obama for America. According to the email, OFA is launching what it calls the "National Organizing Internship" for college students around the…
USA Today has a front-page article on the dramatic increase in demand for concealed handgun permits since Obama was elected:
On Wednesday Senate Democrats narrowly defeated the Thune amendment, a broad-sweeping law that would have made state-issued concealed handgun licenses (CHL's) valid across state lines. To be sure, there was a valid concern with the Thune amendment--the superseding of state laws by the federal…
Tomorrow Shona Holmes will testify before Congress about Obama's proposed health care plan, but unlike most of the people debating health care on the Hill, Holmes is not a lobbyist, a doctor, a policy wonk or even an American. Shona Holmes is a Canadian who almost went blind waiting for vital brain…
In a conference call today, several House Republicans blasted Obama's health care reform plan, specifically its effect on rural health care providers. Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) said the plan will create "an economic tsunami in rural areas." Fleming said rural areas were already losing hospitals and…