Eighteen-year-olds may vote, serve on juries, be drafted, and face adult criminal penalties, including capital punishment. The Constitution protects the people’s right to keep and bear arms. The Department of Justice may not constitutionally seek to impose criminal penalties on dealers who sell handguns to law-abiding adults who, in nearly every other relevant respect, are members of the political community.
FINALLY — COURT STRIKES DOWN FEDERAL INTERSTATE HANDGUN PURCHASE BAN. There is finally a national market for handguns. It shouldn’t have taken 18 years after Heller to get here. Let’s review.
I first challenged this dumb law in 2011. My client, a DC resident, couldn’t buy a handgun because the only DC FFL had lost his lease and couldn’t take the transfer from the Virginia store. Fourth Circuit held — NO STANDING, because the Virginia store’s decision to not violate the law was its own voluntary choice, therefore, not traceable to federal enforcement threat. Lane v. Holder. Obviously a crazy opinion, but, you know, guns.
And it created a direct conflict with the 5th Circuit, which had just upheld standing to challenge federal purchase restrictions. Fourth Circuit did not care. So… I brought a lawsuit in Texas. Judge O’Connor beat the government up badly on standing, got them to basically admit it, and struck down the law. Mance v. Holder.
Shortly before the appellate argument, the 5th Circuit advised us to discuss standing at argument. Gov’t gets up and concedes we have standing, no two ways about it. Judge Prado looks bummed out. Puts his head in his hands. Anyway, panel still reverses. Gun dealers may be able to follow out-of-state rifle laws, but not out-of-state handgun laws. Mind you, the purchasers were DC residents who needed permits from the police to acquire the handguns.
We lose the en banc 8-7. Dissents by Elrod, Willett, Ho. And of course cert denied in 2020, because SCOTUS just wasn’t hearing anything about 2A.
Over six years later, finally, some sanity. Watch for SCOTUS to affirm. But this should have happened 15 years ago. So many people had their rights violated for so long.
BREAKING: In a 2-1 vote, the Fifth Circuit ruled that the federal ban on direct interstate handgun sales violates the Second Amendment. pic.twitter.com/LT1WW93W7u
For those who need a reminder: Alan Gura did the heavy lifting part of the D.C. v. Heller win in 2008 which got the ball rolling on restoring our rights. He was essentially unknown and justifiably achieved rock-star status with his win at SCOTUS.
As predicted, structural collapse. Expect the collapse to accelerate through next June when the “assault weapon” bans are ruled unconstitutional by SCOTUS. With that win the political left will essentially give up on meaningful resistance. We will have a lot of cleanup to do, but the lower courts will mostly stop open defiance of SCOTUS.
I will never get tired of winning. Prove me wrong.
All law-abiding Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense. This right is not a luxury reserved for a privileged few, but a fundamental element of our republic. You don’t need a law degree to recognize that charging a fee several times higher than the cost of the firearm itself is illogical, and an unconstitutional attempt to impede Americans’ Second Amendment rights.
* While this isn’t an actual win, it is more like more like Mike Tyson joining your side in a barroom brawl, it is something to celebrate and likely means the good guys will win.
North Carolina Democrat state legislative candidate Shelly Headen posted a Facebook story from a vacation showing her in front of ovens in a German concentration camp memorial, saying, “Visiting Dauchau [sic] Concentration Camp in Germany… This is where Trump supporters belong.”
I visited Auschwitz. I think people should visit and consider the implications for the right to keep and bear arms. But that isn’t what Ms. Headen had in mind.
It is genuinely upsetting how many people celebrated Charlie Kirk’s death with “Kirkiversary” posts. Some here, tons more on TikTok. The message is clear; if you disagree with progressive orthodoxy, they want you dead and will celebrate your murder too. That includes a young father like Charlie Kirk whose major “crime” was engaging in civil debate with them.
And these posts have thousands or hundreds of thousands of likes, these aren’t fringe edgelords, this is a major view at least among the progressive base. Violence and intimidation has become an accepted strategy for them.
I hate that I have to share a country with these broken people, they must be defeated and marginalized just as much as the brainrotted elements of the Candace Owens right.
I just can’t grasp their mindset. If some leftist commentator I despised was murdered for their views, I can confidently say I would not celebrate it, and you should really do some serious soul searching if that is who you have become. This shouldn’t even need to be debated.
Celebration of assassination and poltical violence is a very dark road to go down. But after Kirk, and their celebration of Mangione, and all the cheering for Trump assassins, it is safe to say it is what a significant portion of the progressive/DSA left now believes. This is who they are.
Oh, and they want to take your guns still. You know, for “safety.”
It is especially upsetting because this woman debated Charlie Kirk. He was nice to her. Didn't matter. Because he disagreed with her views, she apparently thinks his life was fair game. pic.twitter.com/iEvcwoIU2L
He says, “I just can’t grasp their mindset.” I think I can.
My hypothesis is there are two different ways to model their behavior. At a more basic level they are close to the same.
1) They are unable to think rationally. As I have explained before this is a process failure (Peterson Syndrome). It is psychologically uncomfortable for there to be many other people which believe differently from them. Being part of the “one true tribe” is important to them. Other tribes are a threat to them.
2) They are able to think rationally. They know they are unable to rationally refute the opposition. They cannot tolerate the public humiliation of being wrong. Silencing their opponent is more comfortable than admitting they were wrong.
In both cases they have an investment in their beliefs. It could be an emotional investment. Or it could be a political or power investment that is being threatened. Threats need to be neutralized.
It now makes sense when they say they feel unsafe because you express an opinion different from them.
It makes sense when people call themselves “gun safety advocates.” Taking your guns makes it safer to neutralize these sorts of threats to their investments.
The right to keep and bear arms is among the most cherished liberties secured by our Constitution and rooted in the timeless truth that our rights are endowed by Almighty God, not granted by government. This foundational freedom depends upon citizens who exercise it with discipline, integrity, and care, understanding that the blessings of liberty are preserved through personal responsibility and a steadfast commitment to the common good.
“You know, we can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans to legitimately own handguns and rifles—it’s something I strongly support—we can’t be so fixated on that that we are unable to think about the reality of life that millions of Americans face on streets that are unsafe, under conditions that no other nation—no other nations—has permitted to exist. BIll Clinton March 1, 1993 Debunked: “We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary .. | Metabunk
The Founders were not naïve children. They built checks because they assumed men were not angels. Then parties formed anyway, captured the machinery, and taught each generation that the other color is the existential threat.
That teaching is the product. The product sells.
You think you chose a side. A side chose a use for you.
For as much as I’ve mellowed on the libertarian shit, I’m starting to regret as a younger man I didn’t just put all my money into gold and machine guns.
I usually avoid quoting long posts in their entirety. I’m making an exception for this because there is stuff here that I was unaware of. Independently any one of these would just be a speed bump for the next anti-gunowner administration. Together, combined with what is coming down the road in the next few years, this is closer to a brick wall.
The second Trump Administration has thus far exceeded all expectations when it comes to its nearly unprecedented defense of the Second Amendment. While Trump’s first term gave us hugely important wins on judicial appointments at SCOTUS and the lower courts, that was just about all we got. This term is much different. We are still getting good judicial picks, but are also making so much more progress beyond that baseline. This has been the first time any Department of Justice has meaningfully championed the Second Amendment since the days of the Freedmen’s Bureau during Reconstruction.
Given that, I thought it made sense to maintain a list summarizing the Trump Administration’s actions related to gun rights. I will do my best to keep this updated. If you can think of important things I missed, list them in the comments below.
LAST UPDATED: September 4, 2026.
General News
1. President Trump issues an executive order to defend the Second Amendment and directing further action.
5. US concedes inUS v. Petersonthat suppressors enjoy some degree of Second Amendment protection and may not be totally banned (an important concession to be used in states with total bans).
6. “Big Beautiful Bill” zeroes the tax on suppressors and SBRs, though registration requirement remains(Update: enjoined for now, at least as to members of the Plaintiffs orgs in two cases). ATF manages the application surge smoothly.
7. Department of Veterans Affairs ceases reporting Veterans to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System as “prohibited persons” only because they need help from a fiduciary in managing their VA benefits.
13. A number of judges have been confirmed to the lower courts, including Emil Bove and Jennifer Mascott in the Third Circuit, both of whom played a role in securing the first circuit court win on “assault weapon” and magazine bans.
14. After losing NFA consolidated cases ofSilencer Shop v. ATFandJensen v. ATF, DOJ decides against seeking to stay the District Court injunction, meaning the registration requirements are unenforceable against the Plaintiffs in the case. But questions remain as of August 13, 2026, including whether DOJ will appeal.
🚨 BREAKING: I’ve received confirmation from the Trump Administration that the DOJ will NOT appeal our historic court victory against the NFA.
THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP and Attorney General Blanche, for delivering the most significant Second Amendment win in OVER 90 YEARS!
15. In an Office of the Legal Counsel Opinion, DOJ concludes that Section 930(d)(3) of title 18, U.S. Code, permits the lawful carrying of constitutionally protected firearms in post offices that are generally open to the public. (This follows SAF’s win on the issue inFPC, et al. v. Bondi).
16. Tate Adamiak, George Peterson, and others convicted of constitutionally questionable gun-related crimes pardoned.
Tate Adamiak endured what amounts to political persecution. His convictions under the Biden administration were premised on major factual misrepresentations by the government and had significant constitutional infirmities, as we recently argued in an amicus brief in his favor.… pic.twitter.com/dtv3GBbDn2
— National Association for Gun Rights (@gunrights) September 4, 2026
Civil Rights Lawsuits
1. Sued Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department over its years-long wait times for carry permits. They cited SAF’s lawsuit in their initial pattern-or-practice investigation too.
In its amended complaint against Washington DC's "assault weapon" ban, the US DOJ has now added a claim that the District's total ban on suppressors is also unconstitutional. pic.twitter.com/diptits9Zv
1. Massive rights restoration process being implemented, with Final Rule published on August 17, 2026. While imperfect (SAF submitted a comment letter, and the final rule addressed some of our concerns), it’s probably the biggest step forward on this front we have yet to see.
2. ATF rule proposed to tighten up the definition of “unlawful user of a controlled substance.” This will help plenty of casual drug users, as well as people who the government can’t prove are anything but casual users.
2. They have also filed amicus briefs in the 3rd and 7th Circuit AWB/mag ban cases, calling such bans unconstitutional. Harmeet Dhillon participated in oral arguments in the 7th Circuit.
1. Their ongoing defense of the NFA.Update as of August 12, 2026: According to Rep. Clyde, DOJ will no longer defend the NFA’s registration requirements. Many questions to be answered, however, and it’s not clear currently if they will simply not seek a stay, or not appeal at all.
2. They also defend other laws too like the Gun free School Zones Act, even as applied to those walking around their own front yard or only just slightly off of it.
3. No pardon/commutation (at least not yet) for guys likeAdamiak andHoover. This one is disappointing because President Trump has not been shy about issuing other pardons and commutations. Preposterous someone like George Santos gets released while Adamiak sits in jail.
September 4, 2026 update: Adamiak and some others have been pardoned. Hoover has not been yet, though.
4. Scope of relief issue. Relief should not be limited to only those who are members of the association at the time a lawsuit was filed, as the government now argues. That would break the whole point of associational standing and force us to do costly class actions instead. Fortunately, it seems DOJ has backed off of this extreme position, albeit with some pressure from the courts.
5. RushingHemaniand its bad facts to the front of the line of marijuana cases (though this one ended up working out for us with a great ruling from SCOTUS inHemani).
7. Benson betrayal: DOJ (Jeannine Pirro) files brief urging DC Court of Appeals to grant rehearing en banc. This is another one that seems to have ended up OK, thanks to the Third Circuit giving us a circuit split anyway. But it was still a needless error.
California’s state legislature employs some of the busiest and most creative anti-gun staffers in the world, who operate in an atmosphere of nearly complete permissiveness.
Whatever lunacy these well-schooled goons propose has an extremely high likelihood of becoming state law, especially if it targets guns or shaves a chunk off of the Second Amendment protections enjoyed by free people living in free states.
Want to buy a Glock?
Sorry, it’s not one of the handguns California’s “experts” approved for personal purchase.
Need an AR?
Sorry, all you can have is a bastardized amalgamation of AR parts that won’t accept mags or function like normal ARs do for normal people in normal states.
These well-paid legislative dullards are the reason why California’s anti-gun laws migrate east and become laws in other deep blue states.
Some of those laws have already been blocked by the courts (such as the default “no guns unless posted” law). Many of more of those laws are headed for the trash bin of history next spring when SCOTUS declares AR-15 bans are unconstitutional. I expect the restrictions on suppressors and Glocks will also fall within a year or two.
California gun owners still have a long path ahead to just get parity with nearby freer states. But there are more and more court case guiding the way. The big question is, “Will the ‘well-schooled goons’ described above ever be prosecuted?” That is probably the only thing that will completely stop them.
When the ATF talks about a “new era of reform,” the language sounds modest: transparency, accountability, and partnership with the firearms industry. That framing comes straight from the agency, which says it is reducing unnecessary burdens on lawful businesses and gun owners while grounding its actions in clear statutory authority. According to ATF, the goal is a system that is more collaborative and less adversarial.
But the practical effect is much bigger than the branding suggests. In April 2026, DOJ and ATF announced 34 proposed and final rulemaking actions after a broad regulatory review ordered under President Donald Trump’s February 7, 2025 executive order on Second Amendment rights. California Attorney General Rob Bonta called that package the largest such rollout the agency had ever introduced at one time.
That matters because regulatory systems are rarely dismantled in one sweep. They are usually loosened piece by piece: an approval requirement here, a notice mandate there, a narrower definition in one section, a lighter paperwork standard in another. The cumulative result can be a very different enforcement landscape even when the underlying statutes remain on the books.
Our research shows firearm owners are more likely to adopt safe and secure storage practices when they can choose from a range of devices that meet their needs, such as biometric safes for quick access or cable locks for hunting rifles.
Remember, safe storage saves lives. Every gun, every time.
It used to be John Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions was fighting for more gun bans, carry restrictions, and more oppressive red-flag laws. It makes me smile to see their front line has been pushed back to wistful thinking of mandatory safe storage.
This is a not-insignificant reason we have generationally lost the war on guns on America. In the anti-police peak-woke era, many criminal justice reformers turned against gun control. That hasn’t really reversed in these circles.
Gun culture has fully won.
The argument of the NRA is gun control-libs are fools, because they don’t understand there’re many legitimate reasons why Americans have a right to own guns, without restrictions.
Once you have public defenders in progressive cities making the exact same argument, we’ve lost.
Jeremy Wilcox @jwilcox79 Posted on X August 29 here and here.
I would not say we have fully won. I would say that we are on the offense on all fronts and a win is ours for the taking. There are still lots of ways to lose if we get some really bad luck or we make a major error.
My biggest concern is pushing the Overton Window too fast and the pearl-clutchers are able to gain some traction with people who have not been moving forward with our progress.
We really need to get mainstream culture to move with our Overton Window. Take a newbie to the range. Bring up your recent gun competition experiences when someone at work asks about your weekend. Maybe consider wearing NRA, SAF, CCRKBA, JPFO (bumper sticker with “All in favor of gun control raise your right hand” with an image of Hitler), GOA (includes socks!), and/or FPC (some particularly bold and entertaining stuff), branded clothing, use a branded mug, or put their bumper stickers on your vehicle.
Fidel Castro was a murderous communist dictator. His legacy is not heroic. It is a legacy of firing squads, political prisoners, censorship, religious persecution, stolen property, poverty, rationing, and the forced exile of millions of Cubans.
No one can lecture me about socialism or communism. Many of us, including me, fled Fidel Castro’s murderous, narco-trafficking, socialist and communist dictatorship. We did not learn about that ideology from books or political speeches. We lived it, suffered under it, and know exactly where it leads.
Today is the centenary of Fidel Castro, and the Democratic Socialists of America recognize the historic significance of both this day and the man. Fidel was an organizer, a fighter, and endures as a stalwart symbol of anti-imperialist struggle and self-determination for the Global South. DSA has a long history of solidarity with the Cuban people, their revolution, and their self-determination. We choose this historic day to recommit ourselves to acting in solidarity with the Cuban people and to starkly opposing Marco Rubio’s genocidal war against the Cuban people and US imperialism writ large.
A case can be made that the DSA knows their policies are a glossy sales brochure for a product they know is, at best, a lemon. But they aspire to be in control of the stolen property, rationing, censorship, and firing squads.
British right-wing political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported from the United States after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Yiannopoulos, 41, a former editor of Breitbart News and onetime political aide to rapper Kanye West, was deported on Friday, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Yiannopoulos, “an illegal alien from the United Kingdom” had been sent “back to his home country”, a DHS spokesperson said in a statement given to the BBC.
The self-styled provocateur has called himself the “most fabulous supervillain on the internet”. His critics call him a purveyor of hate speech.
Yiannopoulos, who grew up in Kent in the south of England, was arrested on 27 August after arriving at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
He flew into the US in May 2019 and “chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws”, the DHS said.
Milo appears to be having a really bad day. It was self-inflicted so I don’t have much sympathy for him.
I found him to be entertaining. But I expect he will not be in the mood to entertain for a while.
The above really got my attention because just a few days ago John Schussler said:
We have a white nationalist in the white house (ironic) who’s very very interested in getting the non-white people out and thus making the immigration process, including asylum, as difficult as possible. For the non-white people, anyway, white south africans get a free pass.
Removing people here illegally is removing people here illegally. Their race doesn’t matter to almost anyone on the right. They are here illegally, so they need to be removed.
But John appeared to be unconvinced. Milo is a just a single data point in contradiction to John’s assertion, but it is a significant point because of Milo’s celebrity status.
I would definitely advocate for that from ground, up, like abolishing [the Constitution], rewriting it, including people’s voices that haven’t been included on there as well. I would probably also rewrite all the oppressive amendments that are in there targeting marginalized individuals.
Abolishing the constitution, then rewriting the amendments? “Oppressive amendments” which are “targeting marginalized individuals?” Impressive! That is more of a word salad than even Kamala Harris serves up.
Background:
Fox News Digital spoke with attendees and activists at Friday’s March on Washington who voiced support for systemic political change, from sweeping reforms to bringing socialist policies to their hometowns as DSA-backed candidates notch primary victories ahead of the midterms.
…
“March on Washington 2026: Defend the Vote” was held Friday at the Lincoln Memorial held on the 63rd anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, organized by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.
Fox News Digital spoke with a handful of attendees, asking whether they would support abolishing and rewriting the Constitution and whether DSA policies are good for the direction of America — questions that drew support from some of those interviewed.
I have to believe Fox News chose the most “interesting” sound bites. If that were representative of the median political awareness of the “activists” I would be impressed if they are able to able to use public transportation without assistance. Still, it is disturbing that people who are politically active are so out of touch with reality.
I’ve mentioned this before, but it is worth repeating, I’m reminded of something my counselor told me (paraphrasing), “People with personality disorders have a strong drive to control other people. They have so much chaos in their own minds that it feels good to control others.”
Two people in Seattle have filed a recall charge against Mayor Katie Wilson, alleging she has “neglected her legal duty to maintain public safety and peace.”
The recall comes amid a slew of city controversies, the latest being the continued fallout from the deadly Bite of Seattle shooting, and the forced resignation of Police Chief Shon Barnes.
Melinda Jacobson and Dale Osterud filed the paperwork with the King County Elections Office on Tuesday, Aug. 11, alleging that Wilson is “derelict in her duties for public safety” of the City of Seattle.
The filing outlines safety issues across several Seattle areas, including North Aurora, Chinatown International District, Belltown and Third Avenue.
Letting socialists gain power is a disaster. The sooner they kick her to the curb, the better. But with a spirit of full disclosure, I don’t have a lot of confidence Seattle will be able to rid themselves of her until the next normal election.
That last line mentions Third Avene. That is also known in our house and on this blob as Mug Me Street. Part of the time I worked in downtown Seattle my office building was bounded on two sides by Third and Fourth Avenues. The difference between the two streets was amazing. I do not recall ever not seeing at least one police officer near the office exit to Third Avenue. And frequently there would be a canine unit there as well. Your hair would stand on end as you walked out the door, and you knew something was not right there. The street was dirty with lots of people sitting or lying on the sidewalk. Many of the people were dirty and with tattered clothes. On the Fourth Avenue side there was a park, with normal people and shops everywhere you looked.
Apparently, Wilson was able to make an intolerable situation even worse.
It is entertaining to see them squirm and indirectly admit they don’t just want “common sense gun laws”, but total bans. All the while seeing their legal framework, their life’s work in some cases, collapsing like a house of cards.
I am thinking there are probably more productive things to do. Sure, entertainment and a high moral are important. But don’t get stuck on it. Certainly, a case can be made to take people to the range and to get friendly legislators and executive branch politicians into office.
Other areas of potential value include getting good media coverage of the shooting sports. Kid’s programs, Boy/Girl Scout shooting events, local shooter participating in regional, national and international events, etc.
A federal appeals court threw out on Friday a lawsuit by California and the Giffords gun control advocacy group claiming that a Biden administration-era rule to curtail the production of illegal, largely untraceable “ghost guns” was not strict enough.
Reversing a lower court ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco voted 3-0 that California and Giffords did not show the rule’s treatment of partially completed receivers, or frames, for AR-15 type semi-automatic rifles caused them harm.
