If I might be so bold as to intrude, the recent discussion on Safire and gun control is a nice segue to a recent project of mine that I was hoping to pass along for your info. It's a new, entirely free, entirely nonprofit Web site that I have put together: http://www.gunscholar.org, The Journalists' Guide to Gun Policy Scholars and Second Amendment Scholars, featuring top experts -- liberals, moderates, and conservatives -- whose research has led them to be skeptical of gun control. In the very kind words of a few journalists who've had a look at it, "An invaluable resource for journalists and scholars, regardless of their views on the constitutional and policy issues raised by gun control." Jeffrey Rosen, The New Republic. "Whether you agree with them or not -- in fact, especially if you disagree with them -- intelligent gun-control skeptics deserve to be heard, and Prof. Volokh's directory makes an excellent starting point." Jonathan Rauch, National Journal. "Helpful and informative for any serious journalist." Cathy Young, Detroit News. "Great site -- very helpful for journalists, especially the indexing by specialty and the experts' c.v.s." Robyn Blumner, St. Petersburg Times. If you or your colleagues write about guns -- gun policy, lawsuits against gun makers, the Second Amendment, state constitutional questions -- I hope you'll find this site very useful. Visit it, bookmark it, tell your journalist friends and coworkers about it. * * * WHO ARE THE SCHOLARS LISTED ON THIS SITE? These are credible, articulate experts -- many of whom teach at top research universities such as Harvard, NYU, Duke, the University of Texas, and UCLA -- who can help you answer questions for your readers, listeners, and viewers. Most of them have made national names for themselves in other fields as well: Two, for instance, are among the leading liberal constitutional scholars in the nation (Profs. Sandy Levinson and William Van Alstyne). Three have clerked for Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court (Profs. Nelson Lund, Scot Powe, and Eugene Volokh). Some of them started out as gun control supporters but changed their views as their research progressed. * * * WHO CREATED THIS SITE? This site is entirely my own project. I'm on the faculty at UCLA Law School; I originally went into the academy as an expert in free speech law and cyberspace law, and most of my teaching and writing still relates to those areas. Several years ago, though, I became interested in the criminological and constitutional questions related to guns, and have since begun writing about this subject, and teaching one of the few firearms regulation seminars taught at U.S. law schools. Before going into teaching, I clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Alex Kozinski. In case it matters, I might mention that I make no money from this. Eugene Volokh UCLA Law School (310) 206-3926 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.law.ucla.edu/faculty/volokh
