{"id":260032,"date":"2026-11-03T04:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T10:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=260032"},"modified":"2026-11-03T09:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T15:30:13","slug":"black-codes-modern-gun-control-wolford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/black-codes-modern-gun-control-wolford\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Black Codes Justify Modern Gun Control? Yale Essay Says No"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-estimated-reading-time yoast-reading-time__wrapper\"><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__icon\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-icon=\"clock\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" style=\"display:inline-block;vertical-align:-0.1em\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M12 8v4l3 3m6-3a9 9 0 11-18 0 9 9 0 0118 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__spacer\" style=\"display:inline-block;width:1em\"><\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__descriptive-text\">Estimated reading time: <\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__reading-time\">4<\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__time-unit\"> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 id=\"h-\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just because the government passed a gun law 150 or 200 years ago does not automatically make it a legitimate model for today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some historical laws protected the constitutional order. Others were the exact kind of government abuse the Constitution was meant to stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That distinction sits at the center of a new <a href=\"https:\/\/yalelawjournal.org\/article\/from-royal-decrees-to-black-codes-wolford-v-lopez?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"black-codes-modern-gun-control-wolford\" title=\"Can Black Codes Justify Modern Gun Control? Yale Essay Says No\"><em>Yale Law Journal Forum<\/em> essay<\/a> written by NRA-ILA Litigation Director Joseph Greenlee and University of Wyoming law professor George Mocsary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The authors use the Supreme Court\u2019s recent decision in <em>Wolford v. Lopez<\/em> to explain how courts should handle ugly or plainly unconstitutional chapters of American history when reviewing modern gun laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Black_Codes_NO.png\" alt=\"Supreme Court with a gavel, broken shackles, historical laws and a holstered handgun.\" class=\"wp-image-260037\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Black_Codes_NO.png 900w, https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Black_Codes_NO-400x267.png 400w, https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Black_Codes_NO-150x100.png 150w, https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Black_Codes_NO-768x512.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A new Yale Law Journal essay argues that oppressive historical laws should serve as constitutional warnings, not precedents for modern gun control.  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\"><h2>Table of contents<\/h2><ul><li><a href=\"#h-hawaii-s-vampire-rule\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"black-codes-modern-gun-control-wolford\" title=\"Can Black Codes Justify Modern Gun Control? Yale Essay Says No\" data-level=\"2\">Hawaii\u2019s \u2018Vampire Rule\u2019<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-hawaii-s-historical-examples-had-problems\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"black-codes-modern-gun-control-wolford\" title=\"Can Black Codes Justify Modern Gun Control? Yale Essay Says No\" data-level=\"2\">Hawaii\u2019s Historical Examples Had Problems<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-bad-laws-can-be-anti-analogues\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"black-codes-modern-gun-control-wolford\" title=\"Can Black Codes Justify Modern Gun Control? Yale Essay Says No\" data-level=\"2\">Bad Laws Can Be \u2018Anti-Analogues\u2019<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-why-this-matters-beyond-hawaii\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"black-codes-modern-gun-control-wolford\" title=\"Can Black Codes Justify Modern Gun Control? Yale Essay Says No\" data-level=\"2\">Why This Matters Beyond Hawaii<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-hawaii-s-vampire-rule\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hawaii\u2019s \u2018Vampire Rule\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the Supreme Court\u2019s 2022 <em>Bruen<\/em> decision confirmed that ordinary citizens have a right to carry firearms publicly for self-defense, Hawaii changed its approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead of simply refusing carry permits, the state made it illegal for licensed carriers to enter private property open to the public unless the owner gave express permission or posted a sign allowing firearms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That meant gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops and other everyday businesses were automatically off-limits unless they specifically opted in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The policy became known as a \u201cvampire rule\u201d\u2014the armed citizen could not enter without an invitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Private-property owners have always retained the right to prohibit firearms on their property. The issue was whether the state could reverse the normal default and effectively turn nearly every publicly accessible business into a gun-free zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In June, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/24-1046_nmio.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"black-codes-modern-gun-control-wolford\" title=\"Can Black Codes Justify Modern Gun Control? Yale Essay Says No\">Supreme Court ruled 6-3<\/a> that Hawaii could not. The majority held that the law severely burdened the right to carry recognized in <em>Bruen<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-hawaii-s-historical-examples-had-problems\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hawaii\u2019s Historical Examples Had Problems<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under <em>Bruen<\/em>, once conduct falls within the Second Amendment\u2019s text, the government must show that its restriction fits America\u2019s historical tradition of firearm regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hawaii went digging for old laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The state pointed to colonial anti-poaching laws, restrictions from Hawaii\u2019s pre-statehood monarchy and an 1865 Louisiana Black Code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hunting laws did not fit because they dealt with people entering someone else\u2019s land to kill game. Not licensed citizens carrying handguns for protection while buying groceries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>SEE ALSO: <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/hunt365-7-creedmoor-takes-2nd-in-nrl-hunter\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"black-codes-modern-gun-control-wolford\" title=\"Can Black Codes Justify Modern Gun Control? Yale Essay Says No\">7 Creedmoor Takes 2nd in NRL Hunter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The monarchical restrictions were also a poor fit. The Constitution has the same meaning in Hawaii as it does everywhere else. A state cannot shrink a national constitutional right by citing rules imposed before it joined the Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then there was the Louisiana Black Code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That law was part of a broader system designed to disarm newly freed Black Americans and leave them vulnerable to violence. The Supreme Court said Hawaii\u2019s effort to use that history as support for a modern restriction \u201ccannot be taken seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-bad-laws-can-be-anti-analogues\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bad Laws Can Be \u2018Anti-Analogues\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Greenlee and Mocsary take the Court\u2019s reasoning one step further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their basic point is that historical analysis must be constitutional, not merely descriptive. Courts should not ask only whether an old restriction existed. They must also ask whether that restriction represented the American constitutional tradition or an abuse later rejected by it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The authors call discredited laws like the Black Codes \u201canti-analogues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In plain English, those laws are examples of what government must not do. They show the abuse that constitutional protections were intended to prevent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Think about it this way: A historical segregation law proves that segregation once existed. It does not prove that segregation is consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same logic applies to laws intended to disarm vulnerable groups. Their existence does not make them valid blueprints for modern gun control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-why-this-matters-beyond-hawaii\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why This Matters Beyond Hawaii<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The essay\u2019s framework could matter in future Second Amendment cases because governments regularly comb through history looking for anything that resembles the restriction they are defending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But resemblance alone should not be enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Courts must consider how widespread an old law was, why it was enacted, whether Americans accepted it and whether the constitutional order later rejected it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That approach does not erase ugly laws from history. It puts them in their proper place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nraila.org\/articles\/20261102\/article-by-nra-ila-litigation-director-joseph-greenlee-and-professor-george-mocsary-published-in-yale-law-journal-forum?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"black-codes-modern-gun-control-wolford\" title=\"Can Black Codes Justify Modern Gun Control? Yale Essay Says No\">NRA-ILA summary<\/a> explains, laws created to disarm and subordinate newly freed citizens should not be recycled as support for modern restrictions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bottom line is simple: History can help define a constitutional right, but not every historical law deserves respect. Some deserve to be remembered as warnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong><em>*** <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"black-codes-modern-gun-control-wolford\" title=\"Can Black Codes Justify Modern Gun Control? Yale Essay Says No\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a> ***<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just because the government passed a gun law 150 or 200 years ago does not automatically make it a legitimate model for today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":260037,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"manual","footnotes":""},"categories":[4024],"tags":[132,607,122],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":["post-260032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-buzz","tag-news","tag-r2kba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.7 (Yoast SEO v28.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Can Black Codes Justify Modern Gun Control?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new Yale Law Journal essay argues that Black Codes and other abusive historical laws cannot justify modern gun-control restrictions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/black-codes-modern-gun-control-wolford\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can Black Codes Justify Modern Gun Control? 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