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THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA’S HIGHEST COURT STRIKES DOWN DC’S MAGAZINE CAPACITY BAN
On March 5, 2026, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the District’s highest court, issued a decision in Benson v. United States, holding that the District of Columbia’s ban on magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition is unconstitutional because it violates the Second Amendment. This decision has significant implications because fourteen states…
CONTROVERSIAL GUN CONTROL BILL ADVANCES IN NEW MEXICO LEGISLATURE
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. …
VIRGINIA INTRODUCES NEW LEGISLATION TO EXPOSE THE FIREARMS INDUSTRY TO BROAD LIABILITY
February 6, 2026 – The Virginia legislature recently introduced House Bill No. 21 and Senate Bill No. 27 that would require firearm industry members to implement “reasonable controls” regarding the manufacture, sale, distribution, use, and marketing of their products. The purpose of these bills is to create a state law that can be used to attempt to circumvent the…
ATF ISSUES NEW FRAMEWORK FOR WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN UNLAWFUL USER OF OR ADDICTED TO A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE
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…
NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SOUTH CAROLINA LEGISLATURES CONSIDERING NEW FIREARMS LAWS
January 23, 2026 – A bill currently under consideration in South Carolina – HB 4723 – aims to strengthen protections for firearms manufacturers and sellers in the state against lawsuits that attempt to hold them liable for the actions of criminals who misuse their otherwise lawfully made and sold firearms. If passed, South Carolina would be the…
INDIANA COURT OF APPEALS DISMISSES CITY OF GARY’S LONGSTANDING LAWSUIT AGAINST THE FIREARMS INDUSTRY
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,…
FEDERAL COURT IN NEW YORK FINDS INSURER HAS NO DUTY TO DEFEND OR INDEMNIFY IN GHOST-GUN NUISANCE SUITS; ATF eFORMS BLACKOUT AHEAD
In a troubling decision for the firearms industry, on December 10, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in Granite State Insurance Co. v. Primary Arms, LLC (No. 24‑2748‑cv) that insurers are not obligated to defend or indemnify a Texas-based firearms retailer accused of contributing to gun violence In Rochester and Buffalo, New York, through…
CALIFORNIA LAW CREATES NEW RESTRICTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SALE AND SHIPMENT OF FIREARM PARTS
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…
FEDERAL APPEALS COURT GRANTS EN BANC REVIEW IN RHODE V. BONTA
December 5, 2025 – This week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted rehearing en banc in Rhode v. Bonta, vacating the earlier three-judge panel decision striking down California’s restrictive ammunition-purchase law as violative of the Second Amendment. The lower court’s decision will now be reviewed by eleven active judges. The law in question…
UNITED STATES CONGRESS CONSIDERING “FIREARM ACCESS DURING SHUTDOWNS ACT” TO SAFEGUARD KEY FIREARMS SERVICES
November 21, 2025 – During the pendency of the recent federal government shutdown, Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) and Representative Ben Cline (R-VA-6) introduced companion bills in the Senate and House of Representatives titled Firearm Access During Shutdowns Act (S.3085 and H.R. 5874), which aims to ensure that crucial federal operations related to firearms are not…
FEDERAL COURT STRIKES DOWN FIREARM BAN IN U.S. POST OFFICES AND SUPREME COURT AGREES TO HEAR CHALLENGE TO CALIFORNIA LAW BANNING CCW ON PRIVATE PROPERTY
October 7, 2025 – In a major Second Amendment decision in Firearms Policy Coalition Inc. v. Bondi, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that federal laws prohibiting the possession and carrying of firearms in ordinary United States Post Offices are unconstitutional. On September 30, 2025, Judge O’Connor granted plaintiffs’ motion for…
FEDERAL APPEALS COURTS ADDRESS FIREARM BAN FOR MARIJUANA USERS
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,…
STATE LAW TRUMPS LOCAL GUN CONTROL REGULATIONS IN OHIO
August 31, 2025 – In a significant win for firearms-friendly states with defiant cities, a Franklin County judge ruled that Ohio’s Firearms-Uniformity Law preempts municipalities from passing certain local firearm regulations. Ohio’s Firearms-Uniformity Law, which went into effect in 2006, was designed to ensure consistent firearm laws statewide, by prohibiting municipal ordinances imposing additional requirements regarding the ownership, possession,…
TENTH CIRCUIT FINDS WAITING PERIOD INVALID
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…
WASHINGTON STATE GUN SHOP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO HEAR CHALLENGE TO MAGAZINE BAN
August 15, 2025 – Gator’s Custom Guns, Inc. and Walter Wentz, the owner of Gator’s, filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, asking the United States Supreme Court to decide whether ammunition feeding devices with the capacity to hold more than ten rounds are “arms” such that they are entitled to constitutional protection under…
FEDERAL COURT UPHOLDS RHODE ISLAND’S “NEED-BASED” OPEN CARRY PERMIT SYSTEM
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…
ILLINOIS GOVERNOR SIGNS LEGISLATION INCREASING FIREARMS STORAGE AND FIREARM TRACING REQUIREMENTS
August 1, 2025 – Since taking office in 2019, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed numerous laws imposing restrictions on the sale, ownership, and possession of firearms. The most notable of these were the 2023 ban on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines, and a public nuisance statute specifically targeting firearm industry members. On July 28,…
NINTH CIRCUIT RULES THAT CALIFORNIA CANNOT REQUIRE BACKGROUND CHECKS TO BUY AMMUNITION
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…
SECOND CIRCUIT HOLDS NEW YORK’S FIREARM RELATED PUBLIC NUISANCE LAW IS FACIALLY CONSTITUTIONAL, BUT SUSCEPTIBLE TO FUTURE CHALLENGES TO ITS CONSTITUTIONALITY
July 18, 2025 – Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, a court that is historically adverse to the firearms industry, issued an opinion upholding the facial constitutionality of New York’s firearm related public nuisance statute, N.Y. General Business Law §§ 898-a–e (“Section 898”). New York had enacted Section 898 for the express…
TRUMP SIGNS “ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL ACT,” CUTS NFA TAX; DOJ DROPS REESE v. ATF APPEAL
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…
RHODE ISLAND ENACTS “ASSAULT WEAPONS” BAN
July 2, 2025 – Rhode Island has become the latest state to pass a ban on so-called “assault weapons,” following Governor Dan McKee’s signing of the legislation (2025-S0359A) on June 26, 2025. The law, which goes into effect July 1, 2026, prohibits the manufacture, purchase, sale, or transfer of certain firearms defined as a “prohibited…
ATF PLANNING TO REDUCE INDUSTRY OPERATIONS INVESTIGATOR POSITIONS
June 23, 2025 – According to the Department of Justice’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget and Performance Summary, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) intends to eliminate 541 Industry Operations Investigators (“IOIs”) from its workforce. It has been estimated that there are approximately 800 IOIs currently employed by the ATF. The Budget and Performance…
OREGON SUPREME COURT TO ADDRESS STANDARD MAGAZINE CAPACITY BAN
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…
CONNECTICUT LEGISLATURE PASSES “FIREARM INDUSTRY RESPONSIBILITY ACT”
On May 29, 2025, the Connecticut legislature passed the Firearms Industry Liability Bill (HB 7042), which is intended to negate the immunity provide by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). HB 7042 applies to “firearm industry members” – anyone involved in the manufacture, distribution, importation, marketing, wholesale or retail sale of “firearm industry…