Tag: 2nd amendment

New York Body Armor Ban Ruled Unconstitutional in Major 2A Win

I’ve always been a little bemused at the notion of heavy body armor, unless one is a cop or a soldier, or unless you live in one of America’s major cities where the chance of being used for impromptu target practice is a possibility. Around here in Alaska, body armor won’t do much good against a bear or a moose; if you are wearing body armor, a moose will just pop you like a hard-boiled egg, and a bear could probably bite through it. Even so, it’s one of those things that any reasonable person should reckon that someone ought to be able to buy, should they choose to.

In New York, though, for inexplicable reasons, the state barred citizens from buying body armor. No more: A federal judge, on Wednesday, struck down New York’s ban on civilians buying and wearing body armor, and he did it on Second Amendment grounds. Win.

We’re getting accustomed to winning, especially after the landmark Bruen decision. It’s a little odd, I admit, to think of purely defensive body armor as an “arm,” but there you are, and we should not presume to debate Judge Sinatra’s wisdom in this matter, especially since we won.

“[B]ody armor is an “Arm” protected by the plain text of the Second Amendment. As such, regulation in this area is permissible only if the State demonstrates that the new enactment is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of sufficiently analogous regulations. New York fails that test,” wrote District Judge John Sinatra Jr.

Both the plaintiff and state had filed for summary judgment in their favor, with the judge granting the plaintiff’s motion. Sinatra stayed his own order for 14 days to give the state time to appeal.

In making his decision, Sinatra cited the Supreme Court’s 2022 precedent from New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which imposed a standard that the government must demonstrate that any form of gun control is consistent with the nation’s history of limiting access to arms.

Keep reading

‘Gun Death’ Rate Leaves The Trace at a Loss for Reasons Why

So-called gun violence is always going to be a major talking point, even though it’s down across the board. This is obviously good news, and I think we all have a good idea why that is.

While I can’t prove that it was because of the Bruen decision, the drop disproves a lot of anti-gun talking points, and while I’d put money on the decision being the reason for that drop, intellectual honesty precludes me from declaring it outright.

That’s because, as we all know, correlation doesn’t equal causation.

Again, though, we’ve got a pretty good idea. For folks at The Trace, this is apparently some kind of mystery.

On its own, the third quarter recorded 3,301 shooting deaths, the lowest figure in over a decade of GVA data for the three-month stretch.

Why are we seeing this decline? A recent report from the Council on Criminal Justice surveyed four dozen scholars on the crime decline in recent years. It found no single cause, but broad agreement that a range of factors — including the end of the pandemic, community violence intervention work, and focused deterrence from law enforcement and social services — each played a role.

There are important caveats with the shooting data. GVA does not capture every shooting. It can enter or update data on shootings weeks or months after they happen. (These numbers were pulled from GVA on October 13.) It also does not track gun suicides, which represent two-thirds of all shooting deaths. Still, GVA maintains the most complete, timely information available.

The limitations they mention are very real, because GVA just uses news reports. However, that fact is part of why it’s not a complete, timely source of information.

Keep reading

Democrats Continue to Attack the Second Amendment Even After Heroic Good Guy with a Gun Ends Bend Elementary School Shooting That Killed Three Children and a Teacher

A 16-year-old opened fire Thursday at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, killing three children and a teacher before an armed bystander followed him inside and shot him dead.

The brave “good guy with a gun” was reportedly the father of a student at the school.

Democrats in Congress responded by calling for gun control.

The attacker used a pump-action shotgun his mother had purchased. He first fired at a vehicle in the parking lot around 12:59 p.m., then shot through locked exterior doors to force his way in.

Inside, the shooter killed children ages 5, 8, and 11 and a teacher.

A 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were critically wounded.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said an armed bystander saw the teen entering with the long gun, pursued him, and engaged him.

The suspect was already dead when officers arrived.

Governor Tina Kotek called the bystander a hero.

The father, obviously, prevented more deaths.

That did not stop the usual response from the left.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren posted that her heart went out to the victims and that “there have been over 50 school shootings just this year. Congress must do much more to prevent gun violence.”

Keep reading

Justice Department Opens Civil Rights Investigation Into New Jersey Township Over Gun Permit Delays

The Department of Justice unfortunately has no shortage of work when it comes to going after blue state officials suppressing Americans’ Second Amendment rights.

According to a Justice Department news release from Wednesday, the agency has opened an investigation into Pennsauken, New Jersey, to determine whether the process for acquiring a firearms license is unjustifiably lengthy and difficult.

The focus is on the Pennsauken Township Police’s permitting system.

The DOJ said the system “deprives citizens of their right to bear arms through egregious and unjust delays in issuing firearm licenses.”

The Daily Caller News Foundation noted some of the specific obstacles of obtaining a permit.

An applicant for concealed carry needs four references, an address history for the last 10 years, and fingerprints.

That’s quite a lot for a right given by God, and recognized by the Constitution, to defend oneself.

Keep reading

Washington to Charge Residents $126 Just to Shop for a Gun

Beginning May 1, 2027, Washington state residents will have to pay $126 to acquire a state-issued permit-to-purchase that allows them to buy a gun.

Radio host Jason Rantz noted that the permit-to-purchase will be issued by the Washington State Patrol (WSP).

Ammoland received confirmation from WSP that the overall fee will be $126. That fee consists of “$90 for the permit and $36 for the fingerprint background check.”

Rantz pointed out that there are other costs involved, too. Namely, the cost for training and ammunition for a “state-certified safety course” that permit-to-purchase applicants must pass in order to receive their permit.

He said, “Course fees, ammunition, range time and travel all come out of the buyer’s pocket on top of the $126.”

Mike Bloomberg-affiliated Everytown for Gun Safety ranks Washington the No. 9 state in the Union for gun control stringency.

Washington has universal background checks for handgun purchases, a ten-day waiting period on gun sales, a concealed carry permit requirement, a red flag law, gun storage laws, an “assault weapons” ban, a “high-capacity” magazine ban, a bump stock ban, a registry of all handgun sales, “ghost gun” regulations, a ban on K-12 teachers being armed for classroom defense, and so much more.

Keep reading

HILARIOUS: Gun Control Group Tries to Make a Point on Twitter/X About American Gun Ownership and Gets RATIOED INTO THE SUN by Other Users

As we all know, the left never stops pushing for greater gun control. It doesn’t matter how bad crime gets, they never give up the issue.

Every year, there are examples of law abiding people using guns to defend themselves and their fellow Americans but the gun-grabbing left just doesn’t care.

The gun control group ‘March for Our Lives’ recently posted a fun fact on Twitter/X and thought they were being clever and making an anti-gun point.

Other Twitter/X users flipped the script and their responses are great.

Keep reading

HUGE 2A Victory: ATF Ends Registration for Suppressors and Short-Barreled Rifles For ALL Legal Purchases

In a massive win for the Second Amendment, gun owners across America will no longer be subject to a long, drawn out process in order to purchase rifles with barrel lengths shorter than 16″ known as short-barreled rifles (SBR), short-barreled shotguns, or suppressors for their firearms.  

Previously, purchasing an SBR or suppressor generally required a $200 National Firearms Act (NFA) tax, an application to the ATF, a thorough background check, and a long wait for ATF approval.  Even then, oftentimes gun owners would utilize a gun trust to register the item rather than individually register them.

However, following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025, the NFA’s transfer tax was reduced to $0 for suppressors and SBRs.  In August, a federal district court in Texas ruled that once Congress eliminated that tax, the 1934 NFA’s authority to require additional registration and transfer procedures could no longer be sustained.

Initially, the injunction allowed the purchase of the devices without the extended ATF process but only applied to SilencerShop.com and the Gun-Owners of America, who were plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Keep reading

Somali Mayor of City in Minnesota Wants to Solve Problem of Somali Gang Violence by Banning Guns

Nadia Mohamed is the Somali mayor of the city of St. Louis Park in Minnesota. In a recent video, which you can view below, she suggests that the way to end Somali gang violence is to ban guns outright.

Is she familiar with the United States Constitution?

You will notice that she spends the first part of the video trying to equivocate and gloss over who is committing these violent crimes by saying crime is crime and it doesn’t really matter who is doing it.

The Daily Wire has details:

St. Louis Park, Minnesota, Mayor Nadia Mohamed, the first Somali elected mayor in the United States, called for a gun ban after a shooting linked to Somali gangs forced a high school to cancel its homecoming dance.

Minnesota’s Eden Prairie High School, which is just southwest of St. Louis Park, canceled its homecoming dance after a shooting that authorities believe involved Somali gangs left two people injured outside the school’s football stadium Friday night.

“We can definitely talk about this issue without making it a Somali issue,” Mohamed said. “Without making it all about Somalis, and how Somali gangs, and Somali this, and Somali that. … The rhetoric that you are pushing at best is irresponsible, at worst is dangerous.”

“You may be wondering, ‘Hey mayor, how can we solve for this?’ … The answer is easy, ban guns,” she added.

Mohammad’s policy suggestion is what she is hoping other people begin to do. “To pick on a community that is already revealing from anti-Somali rhetoric is low-hanging fruit,” she said. “Let’s talk about policy.”

Keep reading

REALLY? MSNOW Guest Suggests the Second Amendment Was About ‘Slave Patrols’

Left wing author Malcolm Gladwell recently appeared on MSNOW’s ‘Morning Joe’ and suggested that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees American citizens the right to bear arms, was really written about slave patrols.

He spends much of the segment complaining about the Supreme Court, which he says has been ‘a significant impediment’ in the left’s pursuit of gun control.

The most amazing thing is that what he is saying here is treated as completely normal by the hosts, who do not interrupt or correct him in any way.

Transcript via NewsBusters:

MIKE BARNICLE, MS NOW CONTRIBUTOR: What do you say about a culture, American culture, that when a disease is identified and it’s threatening and it’s killing people, you can talk about from the inception of polio vaccines through AIDS, we — we react, we find — we find a cure almost immediately. People feel relieved. Guns have been killing Americans on the streets for decades — decades. And there’s nothing we can do.

GLADWELL: Yeah. I mean, here I have two chapters in the book on the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court has been a significant impediment here. They have — the last two major gun rulings — in the Bruen case and the Heller case — are abominations. And I had — I actually have fun with them because in both of those cases, the court plays historian and plays linguist, because in the Heller case, of course, Scalia famously.

And the — and the fellow justices try to make sense of the grammatical convolution that is the Second Amendment, which, if you read, makes — no one would ever write that sentence today. It makes no sense whatsoever. It’s commas everywhere. There’s this weird initial what’s called an initial being clause. Does it modify the main clause? And all of these linguists lined up and told the court, “Okay, here’s how people in the 18th century used an initial being clause — here’s how James Madison used that clause. Here’s what James Madison meant.” What he meant was, we’re talking about militias here, and by militias he meant slave patrols, right? And the court had no interest.

Keep reading

Protection Orders, Gun Training, And 3D Printing Laws Among Gun Bills Signed By California Governor

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of 10 gun bills into law that he says will enhance what he considers to be the state’s already exemplary record of firearms safety.

Newsom’s office announced the signing in a press release on Monday. According to the release, the laws are meant to reduce violent crime involving guns and reduce the number of illegal guns on the street, among other things.

They include a training requirement for the purchase of a gun, expanding criteria for the state’s extreme risk protection orders, voluntary firearms storage by law enforcement to prevent violent crime and suicide, and a requirement for firearms blocking technology on 3D printers in the state by July 1, 2029.

“California has been a leader in gun safety. Today’s laws continue that work – using data, prevention, and proven tools to help keep firearms out of dangerous situations and support communities affected by violence,” Newsom stated in the press release.

Senate Bill 948 will make a training requirement necessary for acquiring a state firearms safety certificate for the purchase of a gun. Existing law requires the certificate for the purchase, transfer, or importation of guns within the state within 60 days of the transaction.

The new law adds a requirement for a four-hour training course that must cover firearm handling and safety as well as a live-fire component. The law becomes effective Jan. 1, 2029.

The press release also touted the state’s Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVRO), crediting them with preventing 58 mass shootings and reducing violent crime overall.

Assembly Bill 175 expands this by allowing courts to issue extreme risk protection orders even if the subject of the order has not been notified. It also prohibits courts from requiring petitioners to show that exceptional circumstances exist that make the order necessary.

Thousands of GVROs have been issued since the first laws were implemented in 2016, the press release states.

“Between 2021 and 2024, the number of longer-term GVROs issued each year in California more than doubled. In 2024 alone, California courts issued GVROs against 1,727 individuals found to pose a significant danger of firearm violence toward themselves or others,” the release states.

Newsom also signed a law meant to prevent suicides by providing temporary gun storage for those who are in crisis.

Assembly Bill 1974 allows law enforcement agencies to establish programs to take temporary possession of firearms from those who request such. The law requires the agency to provide clear instructions on voluntarily transferring custody of a firearm and instructions on requesting its return.

It also requires the agency to ensure the person is not prohibited from owning a firearm. The agency must also ensure the firearm has not been reported lost or stolen, used in a crime, or part of an active investigation. Guns that are not picked up by their owners will be destroyed.

The law also exempts the agencies and gun owners from certain requirements for concealed carry and transfer of firearms.

Assembly Bill 2047 is meant to hamper the production of homemade guns that do not have serial numbers or other identifying marks. The law sets a deadline of July 1, 2029, for any 3D printer sold in the state to have firearms blocking technology.

This technology would prevent the user from 3D printing so-called “ghost guns.” These guns are most often frames of synthetic materials produced on a 3D printer with metal parts purchased separately. The fact that the homemade guns have no serial numbers makes it difficult to trace them back to their source.

The press release states that the number of unserialized guns has been on the decline in recent years.

“Seventeen percent fewer ghost guns [were] recovered as crime guns in 2025, bringing the decline since 2021 to 37 percent,” the release reads.

Gun rights advocates decried the package of gun laws, saying they are about gun control more than gun safety.

Adam Kraut, executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), was especially critical of the training requirement, which he considers an obstacle to legal gun ownership.

“It comes after California has already passed an 11 percent excise tax on guns and ammo, and carry permits cost anywhere between $500 and $2,500 in the state, depending on the county. SAF is currently litigating against both of those abuses and will consider a lawsuit against SB 948 as its effective date in 2029 approaches,” Kraut stated in an email to The Epoch Times.

Keep reading