Jr. Stephenson, Donald Grier – författare

An objective examination of the Second Amendment, focusing on the intentions of its authors, its evolution from America's beginnings to the present, and the views expressed by the courts.In The Right to Bear Arms: Rights and Liberties under the Law, the first volume in ABC-CLIO's America's Freedoms series, political scientist Robert J. Spitzer combats hysteria and rhetoric with simple facts.He takes no position on whether more or fewer gun control laws are needed or whether guns are good or bad. Instead, he traces the roots of the Second Amendment, analyzes the opinions and intentions of its authors, follows its application and evolution from its beginnings, and explores the views expressed by the courts. He then carefully compares the intended and the implied meaning of this amendment with the views expressed by the entire spectrum of groups involved in the gun control issue. Armed with the facts, readers can decide for themselves.A detailed analysis traces the right to bear arms from its origins in Britain into the 21st centuryThe book includes key primary source documents, such as federal regulations and Supreme Court decisions, a list of the right to bear arms provisions from 44 state constitutions, and excerpts from the Republican and Democratic Party platforms

A thorough introduction to privacy law, covering landmark cases, important themes, historical curiosities, and enduring controversies.The Right to Privacy: Rights and Liberties under the Law measures the impact of what Louis Brandeis called, "The most comprehensive of rights and the most valued by civilized man." As the book shows, an individual's right to privacy is not a written-in-stone concept, but one that emerged from the "shadows" of a number of amendments and court decisions. The book traces that concept to its philosophical and common law roots, then looks at how privacy rights have been interpreted, expanded, and sometimes curtailed throughout the 20th century.It concludes with a review of privacy rights today, examining landmark recent cases involving euthanasia, polygamy, reproductive rights for inmates, same-sex unions, adoption by gays and lesbians, the right to withhold personal information, and more.A source materials section consisting of critical primary documents, court decisions, statutory provisions, etc., reprinted in excerpted form and preceded by brief headnotes explaining the significance and background of the reproduced materialA background reference section—alphabetically arranged entries, combining scholarship with insight, on important people, laws, events, legal issues, constitutional issues, judicial decisions, statutes, places, institutions, offices, organizations, terms, and concepts that are central to understanding the right to privacy

A survey of the evolution of property rights in the United States—from constitutional protections and due process to private property rights and government-takings doctrines.Legal opinions and public attitudes toward property rights have fluctuated over the years, from periods when almost any infringement of these rights was impermissible, to times in which the government was granted much wider latitude. This book examines the history of individual property ownership in the U.S. from the late colonial era to the present, explaining how property rights were established, defended, and sometimes later reinterpreted. Of special interest are rights that have developed over time, such as due process, just compensation for government "takings" of private property, and the rights landowners may assert against other persons.Of particular interest to today's readers are government regulation of private property for environmental purposes, challenges to zoning regulations, and intellectual property rights in cyberspace.Alphabetical list of key people, cases, events, judicial decisions, statutes, and terms that are central to an understanding of property rights in the United StatesReprints of key materials including constitutional provisions, excerpts from court rulings, and statutes