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‘Dangerous or Unusual’

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Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 11/11/2026, 21:37:23 UTC.

Briefings

The New York Times reports that judges frequently use the phrase 'dangerous or unusual' to strike down gun-control laws, a practice based on a misquote of Justice Antonin Scalia's 2008 ruling. The article clarifies that Scalia misattributed the phrase to 18th-century jurist Sir William Blackstone, who actually wrote about weapons in the 1769 treatise 'Commentaries on the Laws of England.' Former Chief Justice Warren Burger characterized the current NRA interpretation as 'one of the greatest pieces of fraud.' The text concludes that while the government can regulate dangerous weapons, the specific legal test is not the sole foundation for such regulation.

Key points

• Judges across the country invoke the phrase 'dangerous or unusual' to strike down gun-control laws, a practice rooted in a misquote of Justice Antonin Scalia's 2008 ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller.
• Justice Scalia misattributed the phrase to 18th-century jurist Sir William Blackstone, who actually wrote about weapons in the 1769 treatise 'Commentaries on the Laws of England'.

Context

The article explains that the 'dangerous or unusual' language has been used for nearly two decades to invalidate gun-control laws, based on a misquote of Justice Antonin Scalia's 2008 ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller. Former Chief Justice Warren Burger characterized the current NRA interpretation as 'one of the greatest pieces of fraud.' The text clarifies that while the government can regulate dangerous weapons, the specific legal test is not the sole foundation for such regulation.

Limitations

The evidence is limited to a single article from The New York Times published on 2026-11-11. It does not provide additional background on the history of the 'dangerous or unusual' test, the specific scope of the NRA interpretation, or the full extent of the Supreme Court's recent gun-control jurisprudence beyond the Heller case.

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