Richard Epstein on Gun Control

The states have the power under the constitution to regulate firearms, the Second Amendment notwithstanding, libertarian law professor Richard Epstein writes in his latest column on the Hoover Institution Web site: "the Constitution, at least as originally conceived, was as much a compact among the states as it was a compact with the people. Apart from the stirring "we the people" in the Preamble, the rest of the document is largely concerned with structural matters that continue to retain great importance. Libertarians should be concerned not only with individual rights, but also with the institutions needed to protect them."