This past Wednesday, Amanda Cassill, a 16-year-old home schooler who happens to be my second cousin, gave an eloquent speech before the Ohio State Senate arguing in favor of the individual right to concealed carry. As someone who has taught constitutional law to college students, I must say that I was amazed at how well she as a teenager understands and articulated the issues. She began with the text of the Second Amendment, then quoted at length from the founders--Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin. She then cited to the recent Fifth Circuit decision of United States v. Emerson for the proposition that the Second Amendment encompasses an individual right (which is quite a feat, considering she did so without the aid of lawyers in the family). And she concluded by citing extensive data showing the concealed carry laws cut crime. If the adults to whom Ms. Cassill was speaking understood the issue half as well as she does, we would all be better off.
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