Articles and Media

On February 7, 2026, the New Mexico Senate passed Senate Bill 17, a Democrat-backed bill known as the “Stop Illegal Gun Trade and Extremely Dangerous Weapons Act.” The purported purpose of this proposed act is to combat illegal gun trafficking, straw purchasing, and reduce gun violence by tightening regulations on firearms dealers and restricting certain sales. …

January 29, 2026 – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has issued an Interim Final Rule (“IFR”) that revises the regulatory definition of who is considered to be an “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” pursuant to the Gun Control Act, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3). Under the Gun Control Act, individuals who fall into…

January 2, 2026 – On Monday, the Court of Appeals of Indiana, in Smith & Wesson v. City of Gary, Indiana (No. 24A-CT-2381), issued a unanimous decision dismissing the City of Gary’s complaint against numerous firearms industry members. The City of Gary commenced this action against many members of the firearms industry in August 1999,…

December 14, 2025 – California AB 1263, which goes into effect January 1, 2026, places certain restrictions on the sale and shipment of “firearm accessories” and barrels to consumers in California. AB 1263 significantly broadens the definition of unlawful firearm manufacturing; imposes new rules for barrels, “accessories,” and manufacturing machines, such as three-dimensional printers and CNC…

September 5, 2025 – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently issued its opinion in United States v. Harrison, addressing a Second Amendment challenge to 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), which prohibits firearm possession by “unlawful users of controlled substances.” While marijuana use is legal in many states, it remains illegal under federal law,…

On August 19, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a decision in the case of Ortega v. Grisham, holding that New Mexico’s seven-day waiting period to take possession of purchased firearms violates the Second Amendment. In 2024, New Mexico enacted the “Waiting Period Act,” N.M. Stat. § 30-7-7.3, requiring a seven-day waiting period for…

August 6, 2025 – A federal court in Rhode Island recently issued a ruling in the case of O’Neil v. Neronha upholding the state’s open carry permitting scheme, which requires residents to demonstrate a “proper showing of need” to obtain an open-carry firearm permit. A coalition of Rhode Island gun owners filed suit in 2023, challenging the…

July 24, 2025 – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision today in the case of Rhode v. Bonta affirming an injunction against a California law requiring background checks on ammunition on the basis that it violates the Second Amendment. In 2016, California voters approved a ballot measure creating a background check regime for…

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law, a nearly 1,000-page legislative package delivering sweeping tax cuts, budget reforms, and regulatory changes that mark a victory for Second Amendment advocates (White House).  A key provision eliminates the $200 excise tax on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns, and…

On June 12, 2025, the Oregon State Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of a decision in Arnold v. Kotek, a case challenging Oregon’s recent firearms law that bans standard-capacity magazines, requires a completed criminal background check (no transfers on a delay) at the point-of-transfer, and establishes a permit-to-purchase program. Following the passage of the…

May 30, 2025 – Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a sweeping budget reconciliation package, by a 215-214 vote. Included in this appropriations bill is a key provision for the firearm industry, Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act. The language removes firearm suppressors from the…

April 29, 2025 – In a case where Renzulli Law Firm filed an amicus brief on behalf of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the Kansas Supreme Court recently issued an opinion overturning the intermediate appellate court and dismissing all claims brought against Beretta and Bass Pro Shops. In Johnson v. Bass Pro Outdoor World, LLC, et al., plaintiff claimed…

April 14, 2025 – Last week, the Governor of Colorado signed SB 25-003 into law. The original bill would have banned the manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer and distribution of “specified semiautomatic firearms,” which were defined as: (1) semiautomatic rifles or shotguns with detachable magazines; and (2) gas operated semiautomatic handguns with detachable magazines. However, it appears that…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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. Recent developments…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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”…

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…

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…

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…