Author: Renzulli Law Firm

March 26, 2025 - Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision  (“Opinion”) reversing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and holding that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) has authority, pursuant to the Gun Control Act (“GCA”), to regulate firearms kits and unfinished frames and receivers. The background of this lawsuit started in 2022, when the ATF...

March 13, 2025 - In the latest development in this on-going saga, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, (“FinCEN”), have suspended all Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) enforcement and reporting requirements indefinitely for domestic entities. As we have previously reported, many small firearms companies – those with twenty or fewer employees and annual gross...

March 4, 2025 - From felony bans to waiting periods and permit fees, courts across the country are addressing the limits of an individual’s rights under the Second Amendment, with varying outcomes. In Vincent v. Bondi, the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (with jurisdiction over the Mountain West and Plains States and headquartered in Colorado) reaffirmed its stance that felons — violent or...

On Tuesday, January 28, 2025, a New York state legislative committee advanced a proposed bill, A.1191, directing the New York Division of Criminal Justice Services to evaluate and certify the viability of so-called "personalized handguns” for use in New York. The bill defines “personal handgun” to mean “a pistol or revolver which incorporates within its design a permanent programmable featur...

January 21, 2025 - In a divided decision filed last week, a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reaffirmed its prior decision in  Lara v. Comm’r Pa. State Police, holding that Pennsylvania’s ban on open carry by 18-to-20-year-olds during a declared emergency is unconstitutional because it violates the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court had remanded the case to th...

December 10, 2024 - As we have previously reported, a deadline to file federal paperwork for many small firearms companies under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was set for the end of this month. Companies with twenty or fewer employees and annual gross sales or receipts of less than $5 million faced a requirement to act before January 1, 2025. We invite you to review our prior Alert of Nove...

On November 8, 2024, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois issued a decision holding that the Illinois “assault weapons” and “high capacity” magazine bans violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. These bans were part of the Protect Illinois Communities Act (“PICA”), which was enacted in response to the Highland Park shooting during a July 4th parade. The stat...

November 8, 2024 - U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra Jr., has ruled that a key provision of New York's 2022 Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA) is unconstitutional. The provision at issue prohibited individuals with concealed carry permits from carrying firearms on private property open to the public, such as restaurants or stores, unless the property owner posted a sign expressly permitting...

November 2, 2024 - The deadline to file federal paperwork for many small firearms companies is fast approaching.  If your company has 20 or fewer employees with annual gross sales or receipts of less than $5 million you are likely required to act before the end of 2024.  Under the federal Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”), the deadline for “reporting companies” to file their initial Beneficia...

October 23, 2024 - This month, the Governor of New York signed into law six bills related to firearms. All of these new laws are designed to further restrict access to firearms, most seem unlikely to have a significant impact on reducing firearms related violence, and one appears solely intended to assist anti-gun interests groups with frivolous litigation against firearm industry members.  Fi...

September 27, 2024 - ATF’s new reporting requirement for Type 07 and Type 08 FFLs located along the Southwestern border goes into effect Tuesday - October 1, 2024. Under the new requirement, if a manufacturer or importer located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, or Texas sells or transfers two or more semiautomatic rifles (that can accept a detachable magazine and have a caliber greater than .2...

September 16, 2024 - A recent ruling by a unanimous panel (3 judges) of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the Wolford v. Lopez case upheld in part two preliminary injunctions issued by the lower courts against location-specific concealed carry restrictions in California and Hawaii. The prohibitions on carrying firearms in places of worship, banks, public transit, medical...

August 21, 2024 - Through California Penal Code §§ 27535 and 27540, the California legislature enacted what is commonly called the California one-gun-a-month law (the “Law”).  Up until the end of 2023, the Law prohibited individuals from applying to purchase more than one handgun or semiautomatic centerfire rifle within any thirty day period, with some exceptions.  In 2024, the Law was modified t...

August 15, 2024 - In response to ongoing litigation challenging the constitutionality of New York City’s law that non-residents of the State of New York are ineligible to obtain a concealed-carry permit, the New York Police Department (NYPD) issued an emergency rule. The rule allows non-residents to apply for a concealed carry permit, even if they have no ties—employment or otherwise—to the City....

On August 9, 2024, Public Law Chapter 678 will go into effect in Maine, requiring all firearm sellers to wait 72-hours before transferring a firearm to a buyer. The new waiting period runs from the time of an agreement “between a buyer and seller for the purchase and the sale of a firearm.” Advocates of the law argue that it will reduce suicides by allowing for a so-called “cooling off ...

On July 25, 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed into law a sweeping new gun control bill – H 4885.  Titled “An Act Modernizing Firearms Laws,” the 116-page law implements a wide array of gun control measures, touching on everything from outright bans on certain firearms to magazine restrictions to new registration and licensing schemes. The partisan bill – passed without a ...

July 22, 2024 - In Worth v. Jacobson, et al., the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed the decision from the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota striking down a section in the Minnesota Citizens’ Personal Protection Act of 2003 (“Carry Ban”), Minn. Stat. § 624.714, as unconstitutional. The Carry Ban, which has been in place since 2003, requires cit...

July 12, 2024 - Last week, in Harrel v. Raoul, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a set of challenges to the Illinois “assault weapons” ban, however, it did so because the lower courts had yet to develop a full record due to the preliminary nature of those proceedings. Significantly, Justice Thomas issued a statement regarding the matter, wherein he questioned the validity of the Illinois la...

June 27, 2024 - The security of consumer data is a major issue all around the globe. It impacts all businesses because all companies collect data from consumers in one way or another. The firearms industry is no exception. Whether it be through sales transactions, internet traffic, background checks, marketing activities or otherwise, firearms companies come into contact with a large amount of co...

June 13, 2024 - As RLF previously reported, on April 19, 2024, the ATF published a Final Rule regarding the definition of “engaged in the business” as a firearms dealer. The Final Rule, which went into effect on May 20, 2024, significantly expands the definition of who is required to have a federal firearms license and who is considered to be engaged in the business as a firearms dealer. The pena...

June 7, 2024 - A Delaware court recently ruled in favor of a shooting range, finding that its insurance liability policy covers claims arising from the range’s rental of a firearm. The court disagreed with the defendant insurance company that a “Rental of Sporting Equipment Exclusion” was permissible grounds to deny coverage under the policy. The case arises from a customer’s suicide at the Noble...

May 30, 2024 - Today, in a unanimous decision written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the US Supreme Court revived the NRA’s lawsuit against the former superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services, Maria Vullo. In that case, the NRA alleged that she violated the NRA’s First Amendment rights by coercing insurance companies to terminate their business relationships with the NRA in an e...

May 23, 2024 - Three Democratic U.S. Representatives, with the endorsement of various anti-gun advocacy groups, have recently introduced a bill, the Stop Arming Cartels Act, that seeks to enact a multitude of new federal firearms laws.  The Act would ban the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of .50 caliber rifles except for government agencies and classify them as “firearms” for ...

May 1, 2024 - As previously reported, the ATF published a Final Rule regarding the Definition of “Engaged in the Business” as a Dealer in Firearms in the Federal Register on April 19, 2024 (“Final Rule”).  The Final Rule, which is scheduled to go into effect on May 20, 2024, greatly expands the definition of who is considered to be engaged in business as a firearms dealer and is required to have ...

April 30, 2024 - On October 27, 2023, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced that it was temporarily pausing all firearm exports to non-governmental end-users except for those located in Israel, Ukraine, and most of the Wassenaar Arrangement countries. That “temporary” pause was subsequently extended. Today, BIS published an Interim Final Rule – Revision of...

On April 24, 2024, the Tennessee House passed Senate Bill 135, authorizing trained teachers and staff to carry firearms on school grounds. According to the bill, the director of schools, school principal, and chief of the local law enforcement agency for the school district each must sign off on the teacher’s or staff member’s authority to carry a concealed firearm on school grounds. The teacher ...

April 19, 2024 - Earlier this month, the U.S. Congress unexpectedly released a draft of the American Privacy Rights Act, (“APRA”), a bipartisan, bicameral federal privacy bill. Privacy laws have enormous potential impact upon the everyday activities of businesses in the firearms industry. The requirements they impose relate to all information and data that is collected from customers – whether th...

April 11, 2024 - As Renzulli Law Firm previously reported, in August 2023, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a notice and request for comments relating to proposed amendments to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) regulations for the purpose of implementing the provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (“BSCA”), which became effective June 25, 2022. Th...

On March 27, 2024, Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia vetoed multiple anti-gun bills passed by the Virginia legislature, including HB 2, which would have prohibited the sale, purchase, import or manufacture of so-called “assault firearms” and “large capacity feeding devices” in Virginia. The bill defined “large capacity feeding device,” as any “magazine, belt, drum, feed strip or similar device”...

On March 15, 2024, Governor Eric Holcomb signed into law Indiana House Enrolled Act 1235 (“HEA 1235”), which seeks to put an end to the City of Gary’s decades long lawsuit against members of the firearms industry.  Despite the firearms industry already being heavily regulated by the federal government, some local municipalities have, over the years, attempted to usurp the authority of state ...

February 28, 2024 - Today, the New Jersey Attorney General issued a certification stating that viable microstamping technology exists. In 2022, New Jersey enacted N.J. Stat. §§ 2C:58-2.13-15, which required the Attorney General to investigate whether microstamping-enabled firearms are technologically viable.  A microstamp is defined as a “unique alphanumeric or geometric code that identifies the ...

February 27, 2024 - Tomorrow, the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the case of Garland v. Cargill, which has the potential to shape how future Presidential administrations can implement gun control without Congressional approval. At issue in the case is whether bump stocks fall within the definition of a “machinegun” under federal law. More broadly, the question is how far ATF can go whe...

February 23, 2024 - USA Today recently published an article containing a list of federal firearm licensees (“FFLs”) that are part of the ATF’s “Demand 2” Program. In order to be placed on the Demand 2 List, an FFL must have sold at least 25 firearms that were traced within three years from when they were sold over the course of the preceding year. Although the Demand 2 List is generally not avail...

On February 2, 2024, the Virginia House of Delegates voted 51-49 to approve a bill prohibiting the import, manufacture, purchase, sale, and transfer of “assault firearms” and certain ammunition feeding devices. On February 7, 2024, the Virginia Senate passed a similar bill 21-19. The legislation, if reconciled and passed, and then if signed into law, would institute a series of new restrictions o...

On January 30, 2024, Judge Benitez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California struck down a California law mandating background checks for ammunition. The decision in the case, Kim Rhode, et al. v. Rob Bonta, held that a California law, Senate Bill 1235, requiring a background check for every purchase of ammunition, is unconstitutional pursuant to the Supreme Court’s decis...

January 16, 2024 - 2023 Senate Bill 2, (“SB 2”), a controversial new California law that aims to impose sweeping restrictions on carrying firearms in most public places in that state was blocked from taking effect – once again – on Saturday. Thus, California’s carry laws go back to the “status quo” as a case challenging SB2’s constitutionality continues to make its way through the courts. This is...

January 3, 2024 - Wishing all our readers a Happy and Healthy New Year! The year 2023 came with several notable legislative developments regarding firearms. Regardless of whether legislation affects manufacturers, distributors, retailers, or consumers, the federal government and individual states continue to find unconventional approaches to gun control, sometimes through new technology. Recen...

December 8, 2023 - A bill called the Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion Act (the “GOSAFE Act”) was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate to ban semi-automatic firearms based on their method of operation, as opposed to their features like prior “assault weapons” bans. The GOSAFE Act seeks to prohibit the manufacture, sale, import, transfer, or possession of gas-operated, semi-automati...

On November 21, 2023, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a decision in two cases finding Maryland’s handgun licensing scheme unconstitutional. To obtain a firearm in Maryland, you must first fill out an application with certain identifying information and then wait seven days while the state performs a background check. Md. Code, Pub. Safety §§ 5-117, 118–130. However, for hand...

November 10, 2023 - There have been three major federal court decisions in the past week affecting firearm laws across the nation. Two decisions are wins for the firearm industry and individual owners, while one may be considered a loss. The decisions affect firearm laws concerning bans on so-called “assault weapons” and “large capacity” magazines, as well as ATF regulations concerning stabilizin...

October 24, 2023 - In the firearms industry, intellectual property is often equated with patents and protecting new inventions and innovations. This is undoubtedly an important aspect of the industry, and patents are vital. However, recent corporate news from the home goods sector provides a key reminder that, regardless of what business you are in, a strong brand and robust, well-protected trade...

On September 26, 2023, Governor Newsom signed into law two bills impacting federal firearm licensees (“FFL”) in California. The first bill, SB-417,sets forth specific warnings that all FFLs must “conspicuously post within the licensed premises.” The warnings, which must be posted “in block letters not less than one inch in height,” concern the safe storage of firearms and the potential criminal c...

On September 22, 2023, District Judge Benitez of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California issued a decision finding California’s “large-capacity” magazine ban unconstitutional. California’s large-capacity magazine ban, codified at California Penal Code § 32310, has been the subject of litigation since 2017. It was initially prevented from going into effect in ...

September 14, 2023 - Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit blocked a California law banning firearm advertisements that “reasonably appear to be attractive to minors,” saying the law related to protected commercial free speech and was unlikely to reduce gun violence or the unlawful use of firearms. As we previously reported, last year California enacted Assembly Bill ...

September 12, 2023 - The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has issued a notice and request for comments relating to proposed amendments to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) regulations for the purpose of implementing the provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (“BSCA”), which became effective June 25, 2022. These amendments primarily change various definition...

August 30, 2023 - New York will soon become the fourteenth state to serve as the point-of-contact (“POC”) for background checks on purchasers.  Beginning on September 13, 2023, federal firearms licensees in New York will contact the New York State Police to conduct background checks, instead of contacting the FBI using the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (“NICS”). NY Exec. Law §...

August 8, 2023 - In a 5-4 decision issued today, the Supreme Court is allowing ATF’s Final Rule aimed at regulating so-called ghost guns to remain in effect. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the three liberal leaning justices in the majority, issuing a short order stating, “the application for stay presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is grant...

August 24, 2023 - Illinois recently enacted HB0218, the Firearm Industry Responsibility Act (“FIRA” or “Act”).  FIRA provides a statutory nuisance claim designed to serve as an exception to the immunity provided by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (“PLCAA”). The Act also criminalizes First Amendment-protected commercial free speech by prohibiting “firearm-related product” advertiseme...

On August 11, 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a decision in Caulkins v. Pritzker, one of the lawsuits challenging Illinois’ ban on “assault weapons” and large capacity magazines, as codified in the Protect Illinois Communities Act (“PICU”).   Although the court upheld the PICU, plaintiffs had originally challenged it only on state law grounds. Specifically, the court held that t...

July 28, 2023 - As previously reported, the ATF issued Final Rule 2021-05F (“Final Rule”), which, among other things, changed the definition of a “firearm” to include partially completed frames and receivers, effective August 24, 2022.   Various plaintiffs filed a lawsuit challenging two aspects of the Final Rule, specifically, the change in the definition of a “firearm” and the change in the def...

July 4, 2023 - On Friday, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an order vacating the controversial ATF Rule that changed the statutory definition of “firearm” under the Gun Control Act of 1968 to include partially complete frames and receivers. In August of 2022, the ATF enacted Final Rule 2021-05F which was subsequently codified at 27 C.F.R. pts. 447, 478, ...

July 14, 2023 - 19 Democratic members of the US House recently proposed a bill that would prohibit the making of short-term, Buy Now, Pay Later (“BNPL”) loans for the purchase of semiautomatic “assault weapons.” The bill, H.R. 9686, also known as the Assault Weapon Financing Accountability Act (the “Act”), was introduced by Connecticut Representative John Larson and co-sponsored by 18 other De...

June 23, 2023 - Earlier this month, Connecticut House Bill 6667, entitled “An Act Addressing Gun Violence” went into effect. This new law includes many changes to the types of firearms available to Connecticut residents, the legal age and permitting requirements to purchase firearms, ammunition and magazines, and how retailers conduct business in Connecticut. The bill expands Connecticut’s ban on...

June 12, 2023 - Unauthorized and infringing use of the trademarks, trade dress and brands of firearms industry members on items such as apparel, accessories and other merchandise is a widespread concern. Late last week, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling overturning a previous decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that, had it stood, would have severely limited the rights of tra...

While some states have pushed legislation designed to evade federal law to hold firearms manufacturers and sellers liable for rising violent crime perpetrated by third parties, Tennessee has taken steps to bolster protection for the firearms industry against such lawsuits. Governor Bill Lee recently signed TN Senate Bill 0822 into law which is similar to the Protection of Lawful Commerc...

May 12, 2023 - Last week, Democratic Senators Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren joined Democratic representative Robin Kelly and introduced the “Firearm Safety Act of 2023.”  The Bill is deceptively short, with a mere eleven lines of text, but could have far reaching consequences for the firearms industry. If enacted, this Bill would remove the firearms exemption from the laws ...

April 29, 2023 - A federal judge in the US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois issued an Order granting plaintiffs’ consolidated motions for preliminary injunction prohibiting statewide enforcement of the Illinois assault weapons ban, the Protect Illinois Communities Act (“PICA”), until there can be a final determination of the merits as to the law’s constitutionality. The Order ...

April 28, 2023 - This week, Washington became the tenth state to pass legislation broadly restricting the sale, manufacture, and transfer of “assault weapons.” Washington now joins California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, as well as the District of Columbia, as jurisdictions with “assault weapons” bans. This follows Washington’s recen...

On March 30, United States District Judge Reed O’Connor denied plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction preventing the ATF from enforcing its recent rule effectively banning pistol braces.  The case, William T. Mock, et al. v. Merrick Garland et al., is pending in the Northern District of Texas and was brought by the Firearms Policy Coalition and Maxim Defense in the wave of legal challen...

February 10, 2023 - Two significant lawsuits were filed yesterday seeking to block enforcement of the ATF’s recently enacted Final Rule on Factoring Criteria for Firearms With Attached “Stabilizing Braces” (“Final Rule”). As we have reported, under the Final Rule, almost all pistols with a barrel length of less than sixteen inches that are equipped with a stabilizing brace are considered a short-...

In September 2022, we reported about the domino effect of the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, as federal courts began issuing opinions applying this historic precedent. The Supreme Court in Bruen held that the “Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside...

January 31, 2023 - ATF published the final stabilizing brace rule in the federal register. As we reported earlier this month, under this rule, any pistol with a barrel length of less than sixteen inches that is equipped with a stabilizing brace is considered a short-barreled rifle (SBR) and subject to the heightened ownership and transfer restrictions in the National Firearms Act, including regis...

On January 10, 2023, Illinois enacted HB 5471, the Protect Illinois Communities Act, which was effective immediately.  HB 5471 contains three primary provisions: (1) a ban on "assault weapons"; (2) a ban on .50 BMG rifles and ammunition; and (3) a ban on "large capacity" magazines. HB 5471 was initially introduced on January 31, 2022, solely as a bill to amend Illinois’ Insurance Code, without an...

January 13, 2023 - Just in time for SHOT Show, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland signed Final Rule 2021R-08F to reclassify pistols with stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles.Under this rule, any pistol with a barrel length of less than sixteen inches that is equipped with a stabilizing brace that allows it to be fired from the shoulder is now considered to be a short-barreled rifle and ...

December 29, 2022 - The ATF’s definition of “firearm” was drastically changed with the enactment of Final Rule 2021-05F in August of 2022. In particular, this Rule added a new definition for a “[p]artially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional frame or receiver,” which includes, among other things, “a frame or receiver parts kit, that is designed to or may readily be completed, assembled, rest...

On December 20, 2022, the City of Buffalo, New York filed a complaint against numerous manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of firearms, as well as various manufacturers and sellers of 80% receivers, or so-called “ghost guns.”  On December 21, 2022, the City of Rochester filed an almost identical complaint against the same defendants.  Both complaints raise four causes of action: (1) violat...

December 19, 2022 - There are countless examples of apparel, accessories, and other merchandise that unlawfully use the trademarks, logos, and brands of firearms manufacturers popular within the industry.  Trademarks are powerful tools for consumer and brand protection, but trademark rights do not trump the First Amendment.  When an individual uses another’s trademark in an artistic or expressive...

December 2, 2022 - California recently enacted a statute intended to prevent lawsuits challenging state and local statutes restricting firearms through an onerous attorney’s fees provision. Thus, not only does California continue to enact unconstitutional laws restricting its citizens from exercising their Second Amendment constitutional rights, but it is now trying to punish those that challenge...