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Kagan Echoes Sotomayor and Accepts That AR-15s Are ‘In Common Use’
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Note the language here. “Widely legal and bought by many ordinary consumers.” “The AR–15 is the most popular rifle in the country.” “They also may appeal, as the manufacturers rejoin, to ‘millions of law-abiding Hispanic Americans.’”
Under Heller, all firearms that are “in common use” are presumptively protected. At some point — and relatively soon — we are going to get a case in which the plaintiffs contend that the ban on AR-15s in their state is illegal under Heller. I have no doubt that, when that happens, Kagan and Sotomayor will find some convoluted reason to uphold the ban, but, having twice conceded such a key claim, that reason will need to be much, much more radical than it would otherwise have been. |
CO: Judge upholds Colorado’s under-21 firearm purchase ban
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A federal judge has upheld Colorado’s ban on firearm purchases by individuals under 21, dealing a blow to gun rights advocates who argued the law violated the Second Amendment.
In a closely watched case, Chief U.S. District Judge Philip A. Brimmer — a George W. Bush appointee — ruled that the state’s age restriction falls within a “presumptively lawful” category of gun regulations.
The ruling sided with Colorado Governor Jared Polis and deferred to a prior decision by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, finding Colorado’s age restriction qualifies as a historically grounded “condition for the commercial sale of arms” and thus falls outside the Second Amendment’s core protections. |
TX: Dallas County residents turning out to support National Gun Violence Awareness Day
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Gun violence kills 125 people in the U.S. daily and is the leading cause of teen death.
Dallas County residents who want that to change are turning out Friday to support National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
Supporters are encouraged to wear orange in honor of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year old Chicago college preparatory student shot and killed in 2013.
She would have celebrated her birthday June 2.
Her friends chose orange because it's the safety color worn by hunters.
Scott Spreier, senior ambassador for the Giffords Gun Owners, a group that seeks seek reduce gun violence, said earlier this week at a Dallas County Commissioners meeting that he believes in owning and using firearms, but also respects life. |
Concealed Carry Corner: Rating Various Carry Guns - Part 2
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Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we took a look at rating various carry guns. I had some great recommendations in the comments, so I decided to do another edition of rating guns this week. If you happened to miss last week's article, be sure to click the link here to check it out. Like I said, I took some of the more common carry guns as well as a few choices from last week to give you guys more ratings based on the three categories of Firepower, Mobility and Capacity. |
CO: Appeals court orders new murder trial after Denver judge gave faulty self-defense instruction
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A three-judge Court of Appeals panel noted that, problematically, the self-defense instruction then-District Court Judge Brian R. Whitney gave for the acquitted count was different from the instruction for the convicted counts — even though the self-defense issue was identical across all charges.
"While we are unable to reconstruct the jury’s precise reasoning, the fact that the jury reached these verdicts while applying inconsistent self-defense instructions casts serious doubt on Villegas-Ortega’s convictions. Under these circumstances, we conclude that reversal is required," wrote Judge Matthew D. Grove in the June 5 opinion. |
FL: Detectives: Knife-wielding woman shot by boyfriend in Cocoa
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The shooting incident happened about 11:30 p.m. June 5. Dispatchers with 911 received a call from an unidentified man stating he had been physically attacked by his "aggressive" girlfriend during an argument, police said.
The man told investigators that he retrieved his unknown caliber gun and shot the woman once after she pulled a knife. The woman, whose name was not released, was treated at the scene before being taken to a hospital for further examination. |
AZ: Man kicks mountain lion off dog, shoots it as it follows them, AZ officials say
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The man fought with the mountain lion and was able to get it off his dog by kicking it, officials said.
He began making his way back home with his dog, although the mountain lion apparently wasn't deterred, as it kept following them, getting closer, officials said. The owner didn't give the cougar another chance to attack.
"When it got close for a second time, the resident shot and killed the lion," the department said, adding that officials later picked up the animal's body.
"The dog was not severely injured," officials said. "The action was in self defense and no citations were issued." |
SCOTUS is Right About This – It Will Need to Address State Gun Bans
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The U.S. Supreme Court finally answered the question of whether it will address the issue of states banning entire classes of firearms for ownership by law-abiding citizens.
Unfortunately, the answer – for now at least – is “not yet.”
That’s frustrating, for sure. And not just for the plaintiffs in both Snope v. Brown and Ocean State Tactical v. Rhode Island. Those were the two cases challenging state prohibitions on the sale and possession of Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) and standard capacity magazines, respectively, that were petitioned to the Supreme Court. The Court denied certiorari for both cases, but not all justices were on board. |
MI: Michigan House Dems target ghost guns, gun sellers in new package
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So-called “ghost guns” could become illegal in Michigan under new bills in the state House.
Those are firearms often 3D printed or assembled in kits that don’t have serial numbers, making them very hard for law enforcement to track.
One bill in the package would require owners of existing ghost guns to get them serialized within 18 months. Anyone who builds a firearm, unfinished frame, or receiver at home would have 10 days after finishing their project to get it serialized.
Bill sponsor state Rep. Morgan Foreman (D-Pittsfield Twp) said it’s a public safety issue more than it is a Second Amendment issue. |
MA: Supreme Court sides with Smith & Wesson, blocks Mexico’s $10B suit against gunmakers over cartel violence
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The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a $10 billion lawsuit Mexico filed against top firearm manufacturers in the U.S. alleging the companies’ business practices have fueled tremendous cartel violence and bloodshed.
The unanimous ruling tossed out the case under U.S. laws that largely shield gunmakers from liability when their firearms are used in crime.
Big-name manufacturers like Smith & Wesson — which still produces guns in Springfield, Massachusetts — had appealed to the justices after a lower court let the suit go forward under an exception for situations in which the companies themselves are accused of violating the law. |
PA: DOJ Tells PA Sheriffs to Start Issuing Concealed Carry Permits to Non-Residents
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Attorney General Pam Bondi (R.) wants Pennsylvania sheriffs to issue concealed carry permits to qualified non-residents.
In a letter to Pennsylvania Attorney General David Sunday (R.) and Pennsylvania Sheriffs Association president Sean Kilkenny (D.), Bondi argued some sheriffs’ refusal to issue the permits violates non-residents’ gun rights. She warned the practice could lead the Department of Justice (DOJ) to intervene.
“This practice is unlawful under Pennsylvania law,” Bondi wrote last month. “It also raises serious concerns under the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms in public, as well as the Privileges and Immunities Clause, which prohibits discriminating against out-of-state citizens ... |
Mexico's Attack on the US Second Amendment Suffers Resounding Defeat in Supreme Court
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SCOTUS unanimously rejected a lawsuit presented by the Mexican government (Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos) that sought to pin the blame of its country’s horrific gun violence on multiple gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson.
“Mexico had claimed that the gun industry’s production and sale of arms in the United States helped fuel and supply drug cartels, harming the Mexican government,” the Times reported. “Mexican government lawyers also claimed the companies were aware that some of their guns were illegally trafficked, and that the country should therefore be allowed to sue under an exception in the law.” |
NY: Second Circuit to Hear Challenge to NY Firearms Carry Restrictions in Parks
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Two years after the Supreme Court’s New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen expanded gun rights, New York and firearms advocates are embroiled in a legal battle over where Americans can carry firearms in public.
The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), a leading national gun rights advocacy group, has taken another step in its ongoing legal battle against New York’s strict gun control measures. On May 20, 2025, FPC announced it had filed a reply brief with the federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, challenging the state’s ban on carrying firearms in public parks. |
CO: Judge upholds state of Colorado ban on sale of rifles to those 21 and older
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The group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and two other plaintiffs were behind a legal challenge to the state law. They sued Gov. Jared Polis the year the law was passed -- 2023 -- and challenged the law's constitutionality. Philip A. Brimmer, chief district judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, granted a temporary injunction.
Federal law already bans people under 21 from purchasing handguns. Colorado's law, SB23-169, extends that age limit to the purchase of rifles and shotguns.
Ed.: The CBS title is wrong; the ban applies to those under 21, not those 21 and older. |
GOA Celebrates Supreme Court Smackdown of Mexican Gun Control Lawsuit
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Gun Owners of America (GOA), alongside Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) and a nationwide coalition of Second Amendment advocates, is celebrating today’s 9-0 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court rejecting the Mexican government’s radical attempt to sue American gun manufacturers for cartel violence fueled by Mexico’s own failed disarmament policies.
The case, Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, marked an unprecedented effort by a foreign government to hold lawful U.S. businesses liable for criminal acts committed entirely outside the United States. |
ME: Attorney General Knudsen leads 28-state coalition against unconstitutional waiting-period law
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Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a 28-state coalition supporting a challenge to Maine’s unconstitutional waiting-period law which requires gun buyers to wait 72 hours before taking possession of a firearm after purchase.
The amicus brief, filed in the case of Beckwith v. Frey, asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Court to affirm the district court’s decision halting Maine’s waiting-period law that went into effect in 2024. The district court properly found that the right to acquire firearms is covered by the Second Amendment’s plain text and that Maine’s proposed historical analogues—licensing and intoxication laws—flunked Bruen’s inquiry. |
Why Won’t the Supreme Court Take Second Amendment Cases Seriously?
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What Kirk pointed out, and many viewers echoed, is that the Court supposedly has a six-justice conservative majority. That should, in theory, mean pro-Second Amendment cases would stand a chance. But that isn’t what happened. Only Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch voted to take up the cases. That means the other so-called “conservatives” – Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Chief Justice John Roberts – either stayed silent or actively chose not to proceed. “At least half of the alleged conservative Supreme Court justices voted to not accept these cases,” Kirk said bluntly. |
Did SCOTUS Just Tip Its Hand on AR-15 Bans?
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Several of the actions the Supreme Court took on guns this week may show where it’s going to end up on “assault weapons” bans.
Certainly, denying cert in Snope v. Brown provides the most straightforward message: the Court isn’t in a rush to rule. But several lines from that denial, as well as one from the Court’s ruling in Mexico v. Smith and Wesson, provide some insight into the intentions of a majority of justices.
Most importantly, we have a statement from one of the justices who voted to deny Snope‘s challenge to Maryland’s ban on the sale of AR-15s and similar firearms. |
Supreme Court blocks Mexico's lawsuit against U.S. gunmakers
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The Supreme Court rejected on Thursday Mexico's $10 billion lawsuit against U.S. gun makers that alleged the companies' loose controls allowed for the weapons to be illegally trafficked in the Latin American nation.
Why it matters: The unanimous ruling ends a years long legal battle in the first-of-its kind suit that saw the Mexican government try to hold U.S. gunmakers accountable for drug cartels' high rates of gun violence in parts of the country.
State of play The Supreme Court ruled that the six gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson and Glock, and a distributor were shielded under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). |
MD: Maryland’s Assault Weapon Ban Stays in Place for Now
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On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that, once again, they will not take up a case, Snope v. Brown, challenging a Maryland law prohibiting the sale of certain semi-automatic firearms, such as the AR-15, and limits magazine capacities to 10 rounds. According to the U.S. Supreme Court blog the denial has been made fifteen consecutive times in as many court conferences over the last five months. |
FL: Florida Pass Bill to Restore Second Amendment Rights During Emergencies
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Why Representative Miller filed this bill:
When Floridians most need the ability to defend themselves, their families and their property, Florida statute strictly prohibits it. This bill would repeal section 870.044 of the Florida Statutes, which currently establishes automatic limits on the possession and carrying of firearms and ammunition when an emergency is declared. By removing these automatic restrictions, the bill ensures that lawful gun owners are not preemptively barred from exercising their Second Amendment rights during times of crisis. |
RI: RI House has approved a controversial 'assault weapons' ban. Here's what happened.
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The Rhode Island House of Representatives on June 5 approved an "Assault Weapons Ban" after more than four hours of heated debate over the constitutionality − and wisdom – of the long-sought ban.
Approved on a 43-28 vote, the legislation now goes to an uncertain fate in the Senate.
Heading into the House debate, Republican Michael Chippendale, the House minority leader, called the proposed ban "misguided, legally vulnerable, economically harmful and publicly unpopular." Rep. Charlene Lima, a Democrat, told proponents of the bill: "The criminals thank you." Other Democrats who opposed the legislation called it "unconstitutional," "Intolerable" and "overreaching." |
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