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ME: NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Maine's 72-Hour Waiting Period Law
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The National Rifle Association and Second Amendment Foundation filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant review in Beckwith v. Frey, a challenge to Maine's 72-hour waiting period requirement for firearm purchases.
The First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law after concluding that the Second Amendment's plain text is not implicated by regulations on the acquisition of firearms. According to that court, such laws are constitutional "unless plaintiffs demonstrate that the Act is abusive toward Second Amendment rights," and Maine's waiting period is merely "a burden on, but not an infringement of," the right to keep and bear arms. The petitioners are now asking the Supreme Court to review that decision. |
SAF Win: District Admits Unlawful Search Violated Student's Rights
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"Maintaining safety on school grounds is a laudable goal," said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. "But the Constitution demands that school officials have, at minimum, reasonable suspicion to search a student's property. Critically, choosing to exercise one's Second Amendment rights cannot be interpreted as a waiver of your rights under the Fourth Amendment, nor can it create reasonable suspicion of a crime. We're pleased the school district here has admitted their errors and reinforced that the fundamental rights of their students will be respected." |
Justice Clarence Thomas: 2A doesn't grant a right; it assumes the right
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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas needed only a few sentences to expose the fundamental error behind most modern gun-control arguments: The right to keep and bear arms does not come from government.
Speaking with Sen. Ted Cruz on the "Verdict" podcast, around minute 29, Thomas explained that the Constitution established the federal government, but it did not create the individual rights government was formed to protect. |
CO: Man gets probation sentence after Loveland apartment shooting investigation showed self-defense
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Vasquez was initially facing a charge of first-degree murder by extreme indifference, but in April 2024, that charge was reduced to second-degree murder.
Then in January, the second-degree murder charge and a violent crime sentence enhancer were dropped because of new findings in the investigation. Additional facts and witness interviews showed that self-defense could not be disproven beyond a reasonable doubt, so the district attorney’s office dropped the murder charge Vasquez faced. |
FL: Man renting Fort Lauderdale Airbnb shot suspected intruder in self-defense, police say; subject critical but stable
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A man renting an Airbnb in Fort Lauderdale opened fire on a suspected intruder, sending the armed subject to the hospital in what police said was an act of self-defense.
Fort Lauderdale Police units responded to the scene of the armed home invasion near Northwest 19th Avenue and Eighth Street, just after 6 p.m. on Thursday.
According to investigators, the intruder was armed with a firearm when he busted into the home while the renter was inside. The renter tried to fight off the intruder, and that’s when he was able to shoot the subject, who fled the residence on foot. |
NY: Buttenschon signs legislation promoting self-defense tools
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Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon, D-119, has signed onto a bipartisan letter, circulated by Assemblyman Christopher Eachus, D-99, urging New York State Governor Kathy Hochul to swiftly sign and implement Assembly Bill A.1838-C.
Co-sponsored by Assemblywoman Buttenschon, this common-sense legislation was unanimously passed in both chambers of the legislature. It would expand retail sales of pepper spray and other self-defense spray devices to general retail outlets across New York State.
This would remove existing restrictive sales requirements to allow for sales beyond currently licensed firearms dealers and pharmacists while maintaining existing safety guidelines. |
MI: Black Teen Who Killed Mall Gunman In Self-Defense Sentenced
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Prosecutors determined Long acted in self-defense and in defense of others so he was not charged in Watkins’ death, CBS Detroit reported. But Long was separately charged with carrying a concealed weapon because he did not have a permit.
At his September 8 sentencing, the judge said Long had a valid legal defense but questioned why he brought a gun into the mall.
“I know there was a gun fight at the Fairlane mall, and the lawyers have agreed, according to this court’s evaluation, that you were acting in self-defense or the defense of others, so that’s a valid legal defense,” the judge said. “Why did you walk into the mall with a gun in the first place?” |
TX: Observing American gun culture at point-blank range
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Few issues in American life are as divisive as guns.
Roughly 100 million Americans own one, primarily for self-defense, and over the past two decades, the number of civilians who kill someone in what authorities deem a “justifiable homicide” has more than doubled to about 470 a year starting in the early 2020s.
Those deaths make up a small fraction of America’s overall gun violence, but they raise bigger questions about what it means to own a firearm — and what happens when people decide they need to use it.
Harel Shapira is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin and author of “Basic Pistol: Living and Dying by the Gun in America.” |
NJ: Want to carry something other than a gun for protection in NJ? A lawsuit could change the rules
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Gun rights advocates are taking another swing at New Jersey's tough weapons laws — and this time, the fight isn't primarily about guns.
The Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, Knife Rights and four New Jersey residents have filed a federal lawsuit challenging state restrictions involving knives, stun guns, slingshots, brass knuckles, sprays and other objects that can be considered weapons.
Their argument is fairly straightforward: If the Second Amendment protects the right to possess and carry firearms for self-defense, why wouldn't it also protect less-lethal or non-firearm weapons commonly used for protection? |
FL: Accused killer who livestreamed slaying released, charges dropped
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About two months after authorities arrested a man who livestreamed a killing, state prosecutors have dropped all charges against him when the case pointed to self-defense.
Lee County sheriff's deputies on July 15 arrested Gedeonson Hyacinthe, 42, after connecting him to an April 14, 2025, shooting death. Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner on July 17 filed charges of second-degree murder and aggravated assault with a firearm. |
NY: Felon Who Fired Gun on Lower East Side Asks Time Served Citing Self Defense in SDNY
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A man previously convicted of drug dealing was charged with shooting a gun, as a felon in possession, on November 20, 2025 on Ridge Street and Stanton Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He pled guilty. Inner City Press has been following the case.
Now in the run-up to a September 23 sentencing before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Richard M. Berman, his Federal Defender wrote in asking for a time served sentence.
She narrates that her client was being pursued through the streets in his own neighborhood when he fired, and that his criminal record is stale. |
OH: No charges to be filed in shooting outside Cleveland police station: I-Team
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The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office will not be presenting a homicide case to the grand jury for possible charges.
A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office said the decision was made after the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office Self Defense Committee reviewed the evidence available.
“It was determined that the State of Ohio would not have been able to meet our burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Sydney Patterson was not acting in self defense,” the statement from the prosecutor’s office said. “As a result, the homicide will not be presented to a grand jury.”
Marcus Driggins Jr. was killed. The shooting happened in July. The shooting happened following a child custody exchange at the 5th District Headquarters. |
FL: Self-Defense? Man gunned down after altercation with woman at Florida gas station
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A Florida man was hospitalized after being shot during a altercation with a woman at a gas station.
Surveillance video shows a violent confrontation between the man and a female passenger in a white SUV parked at the Orion gas station in Pompano Beach on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
The man, wearing a white tank top and blue shorts, approached the passenger side of the SUV and pulled both door handles.
He slapped the front passenger window and appeared to shout at the vehicle’s occupants.
A woman got out of the front passenger side and the man swung at her but missed. The woman hit the man who then punched her in the face. The woman fought back and prevented the man from entering the vehicle. |
Second Shot at the Second Amendment: Could Heller Be Undone by an Errant Qualifier?
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Justice Scalia anticipated this argument in the actual Heller decision. He wrote:
“Some have made the argument, bordering on the frivolous, that only those arms in existence in the 18th century are protected by the Second Amendment. We do not interpret constitutional rights that way…Just as the First Amendment protects modern forms of communications, and the Fourth Amendment applies to modern forms of search, the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding.”
As I recently discussed in a column, this issue came up nine years ago when Massachusetts attempted to ban stun guns. |
MN: Feds file Second Amendment suit against Minnesota over firearm purchase laws
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The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Thursday to challenge Minnesota’s gun purchase requirements and waiting periods, arguing state law enforcement agencies violate the Second Amendment by delaying citizens’ right to acquire firearms for self-defense.
In the 13-page suit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, the federal government asks the court to permanently enjoin Minnesota and its two largest cities from enforcing 30-day waiting periods and permit-to-purchase requirements against those without a carry permit.
It also requests a declaration that such conduct violates Minnesotans’ Second Amendment rights. |
HI: Ninth Circuit En Banc Decision Upholds Hawaii’s Draconian Handgun Permit Laws
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, upheld Hawaii’s draconian requirements to purchase a handgun and rejected arguments the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation made in a friend-of-the-court brief.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance participated in this Second Amendment lawsuit because this battle is not just about handguns; it is about the future of all firearms. Justice Kavanaugh explicitly noted that “There is no meaningful or persuasive constitutional distinction between … handguns and … rifles.”
So, if Hawaii’s draconian permitting and registration laws are allowed to stand, then every state can impose the same restrictions across the board, making it much more burdensome for sportsmen to do what they enjoy. |
AFPI Applauds DOJ Action Defending Second Amendment Rights
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The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) applauds the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) recent legal opinion concluding that a federal gun law prohibiting licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns or handgun ammunition to law-abiding adults between the ages of 18 and 20 violates their Second Amendment rights and is unconstitutional.
The Constitution protects the rights of all Americans, and those rights should not be denied because of age. Law-abiding 18, 19, and 20 year olds are guaranteed their Constitutional Rights, and this opinion by DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel makes that clear. This opinion recognizes a fundamental principle: constitutional rights must be protected for every American. |
LA: Governor Jeff Landry promotes hunting, fishing, Second Amendment
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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, an avid outdoorsman, said hunting and fishing promote responsibility, conservation and bonding with family and friends.
"There's always been a saying that if you teach kids to hunt and fish they are more likely to stay out of trouble," Landry told USA Today Network. "It teaches them responsibility and gives them a healthy opportunity to bond with parents and friends." |
MD: SAF Files Reply Brief in Case Challenging Maryland's Glock Ban
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The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed a reply in support of their motion for preliminary injunction in Bathras v. Moore, SAF's challenge to the Maryland Glock ban signed into law by Gov. Wes Moore earlier this year.
SAF filed the lawsuit in May immediately after Gov. Moore signed Senate Bill 334 into law. The new law states that a person "…may not manufacture, sell, offer for sale, purchase, receive, or transfer a machine gun convertible pistol." It further defines a "machine gun convertible pistol" as a firearm that contains a cruciform trigger bar. Unique to Glock and Glock-style handguns, a cruciform trigger bar is a pivotal component to the overall design of the handgun. |
HI: Ninth Circuit upholds Hawaiʻi firearm licensing requirements
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The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today upheld important provisions of Hawaiʻi’s firearm licensing laws, finding that the challenged requirements are consistent with the Second Amendment.
In the opinion, the court upheld Hawaiʻi’s requirements establishing a 30-day period to use a permit to acquire a handgun and requiring certain newly acquired firearms to be brought to a police station for inspection.
“This decision recognizes that Hawaiʻi can protect public safety through reasonable, objective firearm regulations while respecting the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment,” said Attorney General Anne Lopez. |
Gun Rights Policy Conference 2026: Final Agenda Set, Livestream Starts Saturday
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For those who can't make the event in-person, the Saturday and Sunday GRPC 2026 sessions will be livestreamed on SAF's YouTube channel beginning at 8 a.m. (CST) on Saturday and 9 a.m. (CST) on Sunday. You can also view via the livestream links below or find them on SAF's social media channels.
Saturday session livestream link
Sunday session livestream link
GRPC 2026 is sponsored by USCCA, Silencer Shop, Vortex, Magpul, Credova, U.S. Law Shield, Volquartsen, Trijicon, Colt, GrabAGun, RAYVN Group, AZFirearms Auctions, NSSF and Taurus.
To view the full list of GRPC speakers, the final agenda and additional information visit SAF.org/GRPC. |
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| QUOTES
TO REMEMBER |
| To have no proud monarch driving over me with his gilt coaches; nor his host of excise-men and tax-gatherers insulting and robbing me; but to be my own master, my own prince and sovereign, gloriously preserving my national dignity, and pursuing my true happiness; planting my vineyards, and eating their luscious fruits; and sowing my fields, and reaping the golden grain: and seeing millions of brothers all around me, equally free and happy as myself. This, sir, is what I long for. -- General Francis Marion, American War of Independence, Georgetown, SC [Source: 'Marion, The Life of Gen. Francis Marion' by M. L. Weems, Ch.18] |
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