David B. Kopel (born January 7, 1960) is an American author,

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...

advocate, and

contributing editor A contributing editor is a newspaper, magazine or online job title that varies in its responsibilities. Often, but not always, a contributing editor is a "high-end" freelancer, consultant, or expert who has proven ability and has readership dra ...

to several publications. As of August 2021, he is research director of the

Independence Institute The Independence Institute (II) is a libertarian think tank based in Denver, Colorado. The group's stated mission "is to empower individuals and to educate citizens, legislators and opinion makers about public policies that enhance personal and ...

, associate policy analyst at the

Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Indust ...

, adjunct professor of advanced constitutional law at

Denver University The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

Sturm College of Law The Sturm College of Law ("Denver Law") is the professional graduate law school of the University of Denver. It is one of two law schools in the state of Colorado. Founded in 1892, the Sturm College of Law was one of the first in America's Mountai ...

and contributes to the

Volokh Conspiracy The Volokh Conspiracy ( ) is a blog co-founded in 2002 by law professor Eugene Volokh, covering legal and political issues from an ideological orientation it describes as "generally Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian, Conservatism i ...

legal blog. Previously he was adjunct professor of law,

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, and former assistant attorney general for

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. Kopel is also a life member of the

Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) is an international association established in 1963 to foster professional and scholarly activities in the field of criminal justice and criminology. ACJS promotes criminal justice and criminology edu ...

, and, as of 2010, served on the board of directors of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers.

Early life and education

Kopel earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in history with highest honors from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, and won the National Geographic Society Prize for best history thesis with a biography of

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr. (; born Arthur Bancroft Schlesinger; October 15, 1917 – February 28, 2007) was an American historian, social critic, and public intellectual. The son of the influential historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. and a s ...

. He graduated magna cum laude from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

. He was also a contributing editor of the ''

Michigan Law Review The ''Michigan Law Review'' is an American law review and the flagship law journal of the University of Michigan Law School. History The ''Michigan Law Review'' was established in 1902, after Gustavus Ohlinger, a student in the Law Department ...

''.

Political views and activism

Politically he is a lifelong registered

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

but a confessed

small government Libertarian conservatism, also referred to as conservative libertarianism and conservatarianism, is a political and social philosophy that combines conservatism and libertarianism, representing the libertarian wing of conservatism and vice ver ...

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

at heart who voted for

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...

in 2000. In addition, he voted for

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...

in 1988; and

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

in 2004 for reasons related to foreign policy. Kopel opposes

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...

and is a benefactor member of the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

. His articles on gun control and

gun violence Gun-related violence is violence committed with the use of a firearm. Gun-related violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable), assault with a deadly weapon, a ...

have been cited in the '' Opposing Viewpoints Series''. In 2003, Kopel wrote in ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...

'' "Simply put, if not for gun control, Hitler would not have been able to murder 21 million people." He recently contributed an article to the 59th Volume of the ''

Syracuse Law Review The ''Syracuse Law Review'', established in 1949, is a legal research and writing program for student editors at Syracuse University College of Law and a national forum for legal scholars who contribute to it. The editorial board publishes four L ...

'' entitled "The Natural Right of Self-Defense: ''Heller's'' Lesson for the World." He appeared in '' FahrenHYPE 9/11'', a film that disputes the allegations in ''

Fahrenheit 9/11 ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed, written by, and starring filmmaker, director, political commentator and activist Michael Moore. The film takes a liberal, critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the w ...

''. Kopel's Independence Institute received 1.42 million dollars of funding for its activities by the

. While professing to be an opponent of gun control, Kopel testified before a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on March 26, 2019 that he in fact supports "

Red Flag Laws In the United States, a red flag law is a gun violence prevention law that permits a state court to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person who they believe may present a danger to others or themselves. A judge makes the determina ...

" aka Extreme Risk Protection Orders, that are heavily supported and pushed by gun control groups and advocates. In 2008, Kopel appeared before the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

as part of the team presenting the defense's oral argument in ''

District of Columbia v. Heller ''District of Columbia v. Heller'', 554 U.S. 570 (2008), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms, unconnected with service i ...

''. His Heller amicus brief for a law coalition of law enforcement organizations and district attorneys was cited four times in the Court’s Heller opinions. His brief in ''

McDonald v. Chicago ''McDonald v. City of Chicago'', 561 U.S. 742 (2010), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that found that the right of an individual to "keep and bear arms", as protected under the Second Amendment, is incorporated b ...

'' (2010) was cited by

Justice Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served ...

’s plurality opinion, and twice by

Justice Stevens John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-olde ...

’ dissent. He has also testified numerous times before Congress and state legislatures, including before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the Supreme Court nominations of

Elena Kagan Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 10, 2010, and has served since August 7, 2010. Kagan ...

and

Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...

. Kopel testified on January 30, 2013, or six weeks after the Newtown, Connecticut,

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...

, before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

on gun violence. One month later MSNBC.com revealed that Kopel and the Independence Institute had received $108,000 in grants from the National Rifle Association's Civil Rights Defense Fund, and that another witness at the Senate Judiciary hearing,

David T. Hardy David T. Hardy (born February 25, 1951) is an American private attorney and has practiced law since 1975. A graduate of the University of Arizona Law School, he previously served as an attorney with the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington ...

, testifying as a private attorney in Tucson, Arizona, had received $67,500 in grants from the same NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund in 2011. (updated September 13, 2013) Kopel was the lead attorney in a May 2013 Federal civil rights

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

against the

State of Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

aimed at blocking several "Democratic gun control measures passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Gov.

John Hickenlooper John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. (; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd governor of Colorado from 2011 to 20 ...

" in March 2013. The

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

affiliate station in Denver, Fox31, and correspondent Eli Stokols in May 2013 revealed that Kopel had received $1.39 million in grant money from the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund between 2004 and 2011. Fox31 reported Kopel's NRA funding after the Colorado-based Independence Institute filed suit in Colorado challenging the state's gun laws with Kopel as the lead attorney. Kopel has authored columns in outlets including ''The Denver Post'', ''The Washington Post'', the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', and articles in law reviews including the ''

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...

'', ''

Yale Law Journal The ''Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ), known also as the ''Yale Law Review'', is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students ...

'', ''

University of Pennsylvania Law Review The ''University of Pennsylvania Law Review'' is a law review published by an organization of second and third year J.D. students at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. It is the oldest law journal in the United States, having been publishe ...

'', ''

SAIS Review ''The SAIS Review of International Affairs'' is an academic journal based at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), part of Johns Hopkins University. The journal's mission is to advance the debate on leading contemporar ...

'', and the ''

Brown Journal of World Affairs The ''Brown Journal of World Affairs'' is a biannual academic journal of international relations and foreign policy produced at Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University. It was founded in 1993 as the ''Brown Journal ...

''. ''The New York Times'' changed Kopel's author ID for the online opinion piece, "Bloomberg’s Gun Control That Goes Too Far for the Average Citizen," on April 18, 2014, to reveal that that Independence Institute, where Kopel is research director, has "received grant money from the National Rifle Association's Civil Rights Defense Fund." On April 24, 2014, ''

The Progressive ''The Progressive'' is a left-leaning American magazine and website covering politics and culture. Founded in 1909 by U.S. senator Robert M. La Follette Sr. and co-edited with his wife Belle Case La Follette, it was originally called ''La Follett ...

'' reported that Kopel and his Independence Institute "have received over $1.42 million including about $175,000 a year over eight years from the NRA.""The Times Has Finally (Quietly) Outed an NRA-Funded 'Independent” Scholar,'" ''The Progressive'', by Frank Smyth, April 24, 2014, http://progressive.org/dispatches/times-finally-quietly-outed-nra-funded-independent-scholar/

References

External links

Kopel's homepage

54 Colorado Sheriffs File Suit Against Anti-Gun Bills
Press Conference, May 17, 2013, Dave Kopel is the lead attorney in the lawsuit against the State of Colorado. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kopel, Dave 1970 births Living people 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American alternative journalists American male bloggers American bloggers American gun rights activists American libertarians American male journalists American male non-fiction writers American opinion journalists American political scientists American political writers Brown University alumni Cato Institute people Christian libertarians Colorado Democrats Colorado lawyers Journalists from Colorado People from Golden, Colorado Place of birth missing (living people) University of Michigan Law School alumni Writers from Colorado