UW’s Firearms Research Center Launches Webinar Series with ‘Why Do We Have a Second Amendment?’

Supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s American History and Civics Education Program, the Firearms Research Center (FRC) at the University of Wyoming College of Law will host the inaugural webinar in its new “Armed with Knowledge” series, “Why Do We Have a Second Amendment?,” Thursday, Sept. 10, at 5:30 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time.

 

The free, hour-long online event will feature scholars Nicholas Johnson of the Fordham University School of Law and Jody Lyneé Madeira of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

 

“Teachers are asked to guide students through some of the most complex aspects of the United States Constitution, and the Second Amendment is often one of the hardest to approach,” says Ashley Hlebinsky, executive director of the Firearms Research Center. “‘Armed with Knowledge’ gives educators direct access to leading scholars and primary-source materials so they can teach this history with confidence, not controversy. Our first webinar will be a cornerstone.”

 

The webinar will explore one of the most fundamental questions in American constitutional history: why the Second Amendment exists. Johnson and Madeira will examine the historical and legal origins of the amendment and walk through the different scholarly approaches to understanding its purpose and development. 

 

Organizers also will spend a few minutes highlighting resources available through Armed with Knowledge, including a comprehensive historical firearms law database.

 

Armed with Knowledge is directed by the Firearms Research Center’s staff and an advisory committee that includes K-12 educators, scholars, public health professionals and subject-matter experts. The program is open to educators who teach civics, social studies, history and related courses. For more information, visit the program page here. 

 

About the Speakers

 

Madeira is the Richard S. Melvin Professor of Law and co-director of the Center for Law, Society and Culture at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. She is co-author of “The Second Amendment: Gun Rights and Regulation” and is widely recognized for her scholarship on constitutional law, reproductive justice and public policy.

 

Johnson is a professor at Fordham University School of Law, teaching in the areas of gun control, gun rights, contracts and environmental law. A 1984 graduate of Harvard Law School, he is the author of “Negroes and the Gun” and co-author of “Firearms Law and the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights and Policy,” with David Kopel, George Mocsary, E. Gregory Wallace and Donald Kilmer.

 

About Armed with Knowledge

 

“Armed with Knowledge: A Nonpartisan Second Amendment Initiative” is a civics education program led by UW’s Firearms Research Center and supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s American History and Civics Education Program. The initiative provides educators with scholarly resources, instructional materials and opportunities to engage with experts from diverse disciplines to support informed classroom discussions about the Second Amendment. Learn more at www.firearmsresearchcenter.org/armed.

 

About the Firearms Research Center

Established in 2023, the Firearms Research Center is a nonpartisan research institution with a mission to promote education, constitutional literacy and legal-historical scholarship regarding the Second Amendment. It regularly hosts conferences and webinars; provides digital learning resources to the public; publishes original research; and maintains a group of academic fellows with wide-ranging beliefs. The center also partners with law enforcement and other public health agencies to educate on firearms safety and suicide prevention. For more information, visit www.firearmsresearchcenter.org or email frc@uwyo.edu.