Required reading from around the web of the best, most interesting, or most though provoking things we’ve read:
Lott: This marks the end of gun control
“The federal government has finally recognized the obvious – that sharing instructions on how to make guns with 3D printers counts as constitutionally protected speech. Despite little fanfare, this is an important victory for First Amendment rights. It also represents a real blow to the increasingly futile cause of gun control. The U.S. Justice Department announced a legal settlement and its surrender to the First Amendment arguments July 10 made in a case brought by Cody Wilson, founder of Defense Distributed. Wilson, 25, created a ruckus in May 2013 when he announced his successful design of a plastic gun. In just two days, 100,000 copies of the handgun blueprint were downloaded from Wilson’s website. The most downloads came from Spain, followed by the U.S., Brazil and Germany. The heavy downloading in Spain, Brazil and Germany likely reflected attempts to evade extremely restrictive handgun regulations in those countries.”
Greenfield: Obama Judge: Al Qaeda Membership Not Incompatible With US Citizenship
“The law is completely clear. Staci Yandle chose to ignore it. Because lefty judges are allowed to make their own laws.”
Okun: Study: Conservatives Are Happier Than Liberals
“Researchers found that people who identified as conservatives were happier, more satisfied, and have a greater purpose in life, according to a study published by Social Psychological and Personality Science on June 15. Study author David Newman from University of Southern California came to conclusions based on five separate studies that pooled 19,051 people from the European Values Survey; another 3,222 people from a separate survey; 1,595 people from the Baylor Institute of Religion survey; 1,252 people who partook in a survey that evaluated their happiness, purpose in life, and stress; and another study that uncovered daily diary entries of 114 undergraduate students, according to PsyPost on July 8. […] ‘A question that still needs to be addressed is why conservatives find more meaning in life than liberals.'”
Gutowski: A Cop Who Responded to a Deadly School Shooting Explains Why He Now Trains Teachers to Carry Guns
“‘Cops are not the first responders. It is the people there, the civilians’ Quinn Cunningham has 23 years of law enforcement experience including 17 years with the Colorado SWAT team, in which he is currently a team leader. He was one of the first responders to a deadly 2013 shooting at Arapahoe High School near Denver. Since 2015, he has been actively training teachers to carry inside their schools.”