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MI: 2 involved in Fairlane mall shooting acted in self-defense: prosecutors
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Two of three suspects arrested in connection with a double fatal shooting Friday at Fairlane Town Center acted in self-defense, prosecutors said, resulting in only a weapons charge for one and no charges for the other.
Three people were shot, two fatally, at 1:25 p.m. Friday, July 3, inside the shopping center on Michigan Avenue. Cameron Watkins and Keonte Seaborn, both 19 and of Detroit, were killed.
Martinez Long, 19, was arraigned Tuesday in Dearborn's 19th District Court on one count of carrying a concealed weapon in connection to the shooting. |
IL: Seventh Circuit Upholds Illinois AR-15 Ban Days After Supreme Court Takes Up Same Fight
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The Seventh Circuit just upheld Illinois’ ban on AR-15s and standard 30-round magazines, but the ruling may have a very short shelf life.
In Barnett v. Raoul, a divided panel reversed Judge Stephen McGlynn’s permanent injunction against Illinois’ so-called Protect Illinois Communities Act, allowing the state to keep enforcing its ban on America’s most popular rifle. The decision landed just days after the Supreme Court agreed to hear Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins, two cases that ask whether the Second Amendment protects common semiautomatic rifles like the AR-15.
In other words, the Seventh Circuit just doubled down on Bevis while SCOTUS is already preparing to review the same fight. |
TX: Soros Money Shows Gun Owners Must Not Dismiss Blue Threat to Texas
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“Soros Continues To Pump Money into Efforts to Turn Texas Blue,” Texas Scorecard reported Wednesday. “According to Transparency USA, Soros has already funneled over $1 million into the Texas Majority PAC. The federal American Bridge PAC, long aligned with Soros, has contributed $7.57 million to the Texas Majority PAC… The Texas Majority PAC exists to turn Texas into a blue state by electing Democrats to statewide offices.”
“Don’t mess with Texas,” some may scoff, relying on the state’s “Come and take it” reputation on guns formed from Hollywood fiction. In actuality, Texas passed “An Act Regulating the Right to Keep and Bear Arms” back in 1870, essentially banning the carrying of arms in public places. |
Anti-2A Groups Just Bullied ATF Into Keeping Difficult Process For Gun Transfers
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... (ATF) withdrew a proposal Wednesday that would have eased transfers between Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs), citing “significant adverse comments.”
ATF formally proposed a rule for “Licensee ‘eZ Check’ Verification for Transfers on May 6 after announcing plans to revise or shelve nearly three dozen regulations as part of a review ordered by President Donald Trump in February 2025. The agency sought to permit the use of “eZ Check” system, which allowed a dealer to verify the validity of another dealer when transferring firearms, citing the advanced technology many FFLs use, but anti-Second Amendment groups complained about the plans to revise the cumbersome process currently in effect. |
VA: Virginia’s Gun Law Under Fire in Courts
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Virginia’s governing Democrats made it a crime to buy, sell, manufacture, or swap so-called assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that hold more than 15 rounds of ammunition. The law’s July 1 enactment, however, sits in a legal limbo as a wave of lawsuits moves through various courts.
Plaintiffs in four state jurisdictions have sued to have the law overturned. The lawsuits all claim that the gun law violates Article I, Section 13 of the state constitution, which reads, in part: “That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” |
NJ: SCOTUS rulings show NJ’s ‘sensitive places’ gun law should fall, gun owners say
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Gun-rights advocates again are urging federal judges to strike down New Jersey’s ban on guns in sensitive places, saying two U.S. Supreme Court rulings last month overturning similar restrictions in Hawaii and Texas prove the law here is unconstitutional and cannot stand.
In those decisions, the nation’s top court said government cannot ban guns on private property open to the public (places like gas stations and grocery stores), nor disarm pot smokers and other users of illegal drugs.
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HI: HPD changes its stance on medical marijuana cards and guns
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The chief of the Hawaii Police Department confirmed in a recent letter that people who possess a medical marijuana permit will no longer be categorically disqualified from legally possessing firearms.
The June 29 letter from Chief Reed Mahuna to Dr. James Berg said the Hawaii Police Department has reviewed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in the U.S. vs. Hemani case and “will ensure that our firearm permitting policies conform to the court’s ruling.” |
Crossing a state line shouldn’t cost your right to self-defense
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Imagine a woman driving across state lines alone at night, fearful that her car might break down and leave her vulnerable.
Or picture a truck driver hauling valuable cargo across the country. In states such as California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Oregon – five of the 10 states that refuse to recognize concealed handgun permits from other states – these travelers can find themselves defenseless. Nine states also either deny non-residents permits altogether or make them extremely difficult to obtain. |
IL: Federal appeals court upholds Illinois ban on semiautomatic weapons, overturning lower-court ruling
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A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld an Illinois ban on semiautomatic weapons, keeping in place a law passed largely in response to a deadly Independence Day parade shooting.
The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturns a lower court decision that found the ban unconstitutional. The 2-1 appellate decision found that the Illinois law does not violate the Second Amendment, and its restrictions are “consistent with the principles that underpin our Nation’s tradition of firearm regulation.”
“Whether to adopt them is thus a decision reposed in our elected representatives, and we reverse,” the appeals court said.
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IL: Illinois assault weapons ban upheld by federal appeals court, overturning lower-court ruling
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The majority opinion also pushes back on claims made by the plaintiffs that semiautomatic weapons are not at fault for mass shootings.
"The undisputed record evidence undercuts that claim, showing that the presence of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines is strongly correlated with the severity of the societal problem," the opinion states.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals had previously overturned other lower court rulings against the ban that leaned on recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that strictly interpret the Second Amendment right to keep and bear firearms. |
FL: Gun Owners of America & Fuerza 2A Endorse Blaise Ingoglia for Florida Chief Financial Officer
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Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Fuerza 2A proudly endorse Blaise Ingoglia for Florida Chief Financial Officer.
Throughout his service in the Florida Legislature, Ingoglia has consistently stood with Florida’s law-abiding gun owners and fought to restore and expand the right to keep and bear arms.
In 2018, Ingoglia voted against SB 7026, the sweeping Parkland gun control bill that created Florida’s Red Flag law, raised the firearm purchase age to 21, imposed waiting periods, and restricted the rights of law-abiding citizens. |
Mexico: 75% of Guns Seized in Mexico Come From the US: Sheinbaum
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At the atrium of the Basilica of Guadalupe, where she led the Yes to Disarmament, Yes to Peace program, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo stated that 75 percent of the weapons that have been seized or handed in across Mexico come from the United States, and she therefore reaffirmed that the federal government will keep insisting “with firmness and respect” on the need to stop their illegal trafficking.
“Most of the weapons come from the country to the north, from the United States, and cross our border illegally to sow violence and take lives in Mexico,” she asserted. |
NATO leaders leave summit with pistols after Erdogan hands them out as gifts
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Air security authorities say not to travel without knowing what is in your bags. But Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, upon return from this week’s NATO summit in Turkey, discovered a pistol and live ammunition in his possession, courtesy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Leaders of NATO’s 32 member countries received the gifts — revolvers with personalized engravings and ammo — as unusual party favors bequeathed by Erdogan in his capacity as host of the summit, which showcased Turkey’s defense industry. |
IL: Federal appeals court upholds ban on semiautomatic weapons, overturning ruling
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A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld an Illinois ban on semiautomatic weapons, keeping in place a law passed largely in response to a deadly Independence Day parade shooting.
The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturns a lower court decision that found the ban unconstitutional. The 2-1 appellate decision found that the Illinois law does not violate the Second Amendment, and its restrictions are “consistent with the principles that underpin our Nation’s tradition of firearm regulation.”
“Whether to adopt them is thus a decision reposed in our elected representatives, and we reverse,” the appeals court said. |
Texas Gun Group: Why Is There A Federal Agency Overseeing A Constitutional Right?
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So far as legitimate questions go, I think the one recently asked by the pro-rights organization Texas Gun Rights bears some exploration.
In a news item published on its website on July 1, TXGR laid out a good argument against the existence of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The group has been calling for abolishing the agency for quite some time.
“The Bill of Rights protects speech, religion, the press, assembly, due process, privacy and the right to keep and bear arms,” TXGR wrote. “Only one of those rights has an entire federal agency built around regulating, restricting, investigating and prosecuting the tools necessary to exercise it. The Second Amendment.” |
The Uncomfortable Truth for Antis as Semi-Auto Rifle Cases Loom at SCOTUS
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Buried 18 pages into a Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court in a case known as Calce v. City of New York is an uncomfortable truth the gun prohibition lobby and its congressional and legislative allies want to avoid as two cases challenging bans on modern semiautomatic rifles are on the court’s docket for the term beginning in October.
By no small coincidence, both of those cases were also brought by SAF, and the outcome will almost certainly bring its sister organization—the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA)—out of the shadows, where it has dwelt for too long, and into the spotlight. More about this in a moment. |
VA: Here’s Why Judge Blocked Virginia’s Gun Ban
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A Virginia judge informed state officials in a Tuesday letter that a newly passed ban on modern semiautomatic firearms was blocked across the state, citing the potential for a “treacherous patchwork” within Virginia.
Shortly after Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the ban on so-called “assault weapons,” SB 749, into law on May 14, pro-Second Amendment organizations, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), Gun Owners of America (GOA), Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed lawsuits seeking to have the ban invalidated on Second Amendment grounds. |
Don Jr.'s latest 'grift' comes with 'lethal consequences' for America
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Donald Trump Jr. has found yet another way to monetize his father's presidency — and this could have deadly consequences, a new analysis warns.
Salon columnist Heather Digby Parton on Thursday authored a withering editorial about the eldest Trump son's spokesman position at online retailer GrabAGun and his ownership of 300,000 in the publicly traded company.
"It’s pretty clear this is just another Trump family grift, and that it will likely have lethal consequences," wrote Digby. "Somebody’s going to make a profit at it, and the Trumps are always first in line to wet their beaks." |
IL: FPC Statement on Seventh Circuit Decision Upholding Illinois Assault Weapons and Large-Capacity Magazine Bans
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Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) President Brandon Combs issued the following statement responding to the Seventh Circuit's opinion in FPC's Harrel v. Raoul lawsuit (consolidated with Barnett v. Raoul and others) challenging the Illinois Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) bans on so-called "assault weapons" and "large-capacity" magazines. The district court declared the bans unconstitutional following extensive briefing, presentation of evidence, and a trial, but the Seventh Circuit reversed that ruling today:
"Today's decision is exactly what we've come to expect from courts desperately contorting themselves to keep failed gun-control theories alive. |
IL: Illinois assault weapons ban upheld by federal appeals court, overturning lower-court ruling
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A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld an Illinois ban on semiautomatic weapons, keeping in place a law passed largely in response to the deadly Highland Park parade mass shooting.
The ban, called the Protect Illinois Communities Act, was passed and quickly signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in January 2023, in response to the Highland Park July 4th parade mass shooting that killed seven people and injured 36. The shooter used a legally purchased semiautomatic weapon.
The law prohibits the sale of more than 100 kinds of semiautomatic firearms and limits magazine capacities. |
MA: Attend the Civil Rights Coalition Special Event on July 15th!
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Massachusetts gun owners are facing an unprecedented assault on their constitutional liberties under the draconian overreach of Chapter 135.
This unconstitutional legislation directly targets law-abiding citizens, creating an unnecessary and convoluted burden on anyone exercising their right to keep and bear arms.
To counter this blatant infringement and fully restore our Second Amendment rights, The Civil Rights Coalition is inviting you to a special event to help organize, mobilize, and fuel the grassroots resistance. Gun Owners of America will also be there!
The event will take place on Wednesday, July 15th, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Cape Gun Works, located at 96 Airport Rd in Hyannis. |
The Long-Awaited Supreme Court Fight Over AR-15 Bans Is Finally Here
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I’ve got to be honest. I had mixed emotions when the U.S. Supreme Court announced it was going to hear arguments challenging bans on the sale of Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs).
First, I was downright giddy. Then, with a sigh, I thought, “It’s about time.”
In fact, NSSF used the word “elated” in our statement upon hearing that Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins will be heard by the Supreme Court in the next session.
These petitions were relisted several times before the Supreme Court ultimately decided to grant cert. Viramontes and Grant challenge Cook County, Illinois and Connecticut’s respective bans on MSR possession, the most-commonly sold centerfire rifle in America, of which there are over 32 million in circulation. |
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