Tag: 2nd amendment

Winners Not Happy With Judgment in Lawsuit Against Under 21 Handgun Sales Ban

A U.S. District Court in Louisiana handed three Second Amendment advocacy groups and three individual plaintiffs what they said was an empty victory and a possibly unconstitutional order.

The plaintiffs intend to appeal the judgment.

Meanwhile, a constitutional lawyer and Second Amendment social media influencer said their concerns may be unfounded.

In November 2020, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), Firearms Policy Coalition, Louisiana Shooting Association, along with individuals Caleb Reese, Joseph Granich, and Emily Naquin, sued the federal government over its prohibition on sales of handguns to those between 18 and 21.

In 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana upheld the ban.

The plaintiffs appealed to a three-judge panel of the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled the ban unconstitutional and sent the case back to the district court for a final judgment.

On Oct. 7, District Court Judge Robert R. Summerhays issued a narrow judgment limiting relief to people who were members of the plaintiff organizations on Nov. 6, 2020, and are located in Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, the states in the Fifth Circuit.

The judge also ruled that the organizations create a list of those members within 21 days.

The plaintiffs said that affected members of the named organizations would have been in their early teens at the time of the filing. Leaders of the plaintiff groups said they would refuse to disclose membership information.

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US Supreme Court Takes Up Challenge to Hawaii’s Gun Law

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Oct. 3 to take up a new Second Amendment case related to a Hawaii law that bars the carrying of handguns on private property open to the public, such as restaurants, malls, and many businesses.

The nine justices took up an appeal by three Hawaii residents who have concealed carry licenses, and a state-based gun rights advocacy group challenging Hawaii’s law while seeking to reverse a lower court’s determination that the state law complies with the Second Amendment.

Hawaii’s gun law bans firearms on private property unless the owner has specifically allowed them on the premises. It also blocks firearms in places such as beaches, parks, bars, and restaurants that serve alcohol.

Hawaii’s measure was challenged by state residents Jason Wolford, Alison Wolford, and Atom Kasprzycki—who own firearms and have concealed carry licenses—along with the Hawaii Firearms Coalition, a gun rights organization. The defendant is listed as Hawaii Attorney General Anne E. Lopez.

In a petition to the high court submitted earlier this year, the plaintiffs ask whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which upheld the state law, “erred in holding … that Hawaii may presumptively prohibit the carry of handguns by licensed concealed carry permit holders on private property open to the public.”

A judge blocked the Hawaii law after it was challenged in court by the gun rights group and the three Maui residents. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, however, largely reversed that decision and allowed Hawaii to enforce the law.

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Federal Court Rules Bans on Carrying Firearms in Post Offices Are Unconstitutional, Democrats Hardest Hit

In a win for the Second Amendment and law-abiding gun owners across America, a federal court has ruled that bans on carrying firearms in U.S. Post Offices are unconstitutional.

And, yes, as I wrote in the headline, “Democrats hardest hit,” given that the gun-grabbing Democrat Party never saw a firearm it didn’t want to control, restrict, or outright ban.

As reported by RedState’s sister site, “Bearing Arms,” on Wednesday, Chief United States District Judge Reed O’Connor handed down an opinion on Firearms Policy Coalition Inc, et.al. v. Bondi. FPC was joined by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) in challenging the federal law.

The ruling also applies to carrying firearms on property surrounding post offices.

Here’s more, via Bearing Arms:

O’Connor wrote that the law “is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment with respect to Plaintiffs’ (and their members) possession and carrying of firearms inside of an ordinary United States Post Office or the surrounding Post Office property.” There’s nothing in the order limiting it to Texas and applies to all members of the Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition.

The complaint was originally filed in June 2024 and the named defendant was then-Attorney General Garland. “So if the government seeks to restrict firearms in a particular location as a ‘sensitive place,’ it must prove that its current restriction is sufficiently analogous to a ‘well-established and representative historical analogue,’” the complaint said.

This order in Texas comes at the heels of the Department of Justice dropping a bid for an appeal in a criminal matter involving carriage on U.S. Postal Service property. U.S. v. Ayala in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida involved defendant Ayala’s possession of a firearm on postal grounds. District Court Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle wrote that: “The United States fails to meet its burden of pointing to a historical tradition of firearms regulation justifying Ayala’s indictment under § 930(a).”

Judge O’Connor struck down both the federal statute (18 U.S.C. § 930(a)) and USPS regulation (39 C.F.R. § 232.1(l)) that prohibited firearm possession and carry at ordinary post offices — not those situated on military bases or within multi-use federal complexes.

Such rulings, whether favorable to Second Amendment rights or against, highlight the decades-old debate between the left, which absurdly blames “gun violence” — as if firearms themselves committed crimes — and the right, which correctly asserts that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

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DOJ Sues LA County Sheriff Over Alleged Second Amendment Violations in Gun Permitting

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for allegedly denying residents’ Second Amendment rights through an inordinately long concealed weapons permit application process.

The lawsuit, filed by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, comes on the heels of a DOJ investigation and a partially successful lawsuit filed by the California Rifle and Pistol Association.

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, the DOJ accuses Sheriff Robert Luna of overseeing a system designed to deny citizens’ Second Amendment rights.

“Between January 2024 and March 2025, Defendants received 3,982 applications for new concealed carry licenses. Of these, they approved exactly two—a mere 0.05 percent approval rate that cannot be explained by legitimate disqualifying factors alone,” the lawsuit states.

“This is not bureaucratic inefficiency; it is systematic obstruction of constitutional rights.”

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement announcing the lawsuit that it “seeks to stop Los Angeles County’s egregious pattern and practice of delaying law-abiding citizens from exercising their right to bear arms.”

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Stephen Colbert Pushes More Control on ‘Long Guns’ After Man Attacked Dallas ICE with 8mm Bolt Action

On Wednesday night, Stephen Colbert pushed for more gun control on “long guns” after a sniper used a WWII-era bolt action rifle to attack a Dallas ICE facility.

Colbert was interviewing Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) when he made the comments.

Media Research Center captured the moment the interview began,  with Colbert saying:

Before we get into anything else, right off the top, I just want to point out and let everybody know that you have been a tireless advocate for gun control for years now. And as you know, and I think most of the people out here know, today there was another tragic shooting, this time at an ICE facility down in Dallas. We don’t know a lot about it so far. What goes through your mind when you hear about another shooting like this?

Murphy responded by saying, in part, “It just sickens me that we have a president who instead of trying to stand up and say wherever the violence comes from, it’s unacceptable, is politicizing this moment. It’s about the victims and it’s about a mourning of a loss of a potential moment to bring this country together.”

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Feds Move To Dismiss Marijuana And Gun Rights Case In Anticipation Of Landmark Ruling From Supreme Court

The Trump administration is asking a federal court to dismiss one of multiple pending cases concerning marijuana and gun rights, in large part because it expects the U.S. Supreme Court to make a precedent-setting ruling on the issue.

In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma on Tuesday, attorneys for the Justice Department urged a judge to dismiss a case “without prejudice” that involves a man charged in 2022 after police discovered cannabis and a handgun in his vehicle during a traffic stop.

Attorneys for the man, Jared Michael Harrison, also want the court to dismiss the case—but they take issue with DOJ’s specific request, as dismissing the case without prejudice would mean he could be prosecuted again. And they criticized the government’s arguments in support of its motion, noting that the department relied heavily on the length of the court battle that’s lasted three years. The lawyers also challenged the idea that outstanding Supreme Court cases that similarly deal with cannabis and federal firearms laws justify dismissal without prejudice.

But according to the federal government, the request would be “in the interest of justice,” while recognizing that the constitutionality of the statute in question–18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3)—”remains open both in this case and in the country as a whole. ”

“There are currently seven petitions for certiorari pending before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of § 922(g)(3) under the Second Amendment, six of which involve as-applied challenges, and are a mix of petitions filed by the United States and criminal defendants,” DOJ said, adding that they expect there’s a “reasonable likelihood that the Supreme Court will grant certiorari” in at least one of the pending cases.

“Continuing to pursue this case at this time would needlessly waste judicial and prosecutorial resources,” the government’s filing said.

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The Moral Problem With Most Gun Free Zones

Let’s start with a thought experiment. Suppose I push you into deep water as part of a swimming lesson. Because you do not know how to swim, you start desperately trying to keep yourself afloat, but to no avail. Now suppose further that I do nothing to rescue you, and as a result, you drown. My actions in this scenario are tantamount to murder. I intentionally placed you in a situation of great vulnerability and then refused to provide for you. Your rights were egregiously violated by my refusal to do anything.

The moral principle behind this thought experiment is the following: if I knowingly cause you to exist in a state of great need or vulnerability, then I am responsible for providing for you. If I do not, then I am negligent. If my negligence leads to your death, then I am guilty of murder.

This principle is enshrined in the legal system as part of the state-created danger doctrine. If the government does something that puts someone into a position of danger, it bears a special responsibility to provide for that individual’s safety. If it fails to do this, then it may be held liable for any harms that result.

What’s This Got to Do with Gun-Free Zones?

This principle has direct relevance for so-called “gun-free zones.” These are locations in which the government has declared, using the threat of punishment to force compliance, that carrying firearms is prohibited. In coercively requiring us to disarm, the government intentionally handicaps our ability to effectively and reasonably protect ourselves.

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Tim Walz: ‘Not Acceptable’ that Minnesota Republicans Refuse to ‘Vote on Gun Bans’

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) gave an update on his most recent state-level gun control push, claiming it is “not acceptable” that Republican members of the legislature refuse to “vote on gun bans.”

FOX 9 reported Walz’s comments, in which he said, “I guess there is a line in the sand. I was told by Republican leadership that there would never be a vote on guns, there wouldn’t be a vote on gun bans.”

He said the Republican position is “not acceptable” and not the kind of “compromise” he wanted from lawmakers.

Walz went on to say he believes the Republican legislators are now being called by families from Annunciation Catholic school–which was attacked by a transgender shooter August 27–and he hopes that results in Republicans coming to the table.

Breitbart News noted that Walz held a presser outside a Minnesota elementary school on September 2 where he said he would be calling up the legislature for an emergency gun control session. FOX 9 quoted Walz saying, “The thing that makes America unique in terms of shootings is we just have more guns and the wrong types of guns are on the streets.”

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‘Socialist Rifle Association’ attempts to hide names of leaders after members linked to string of violent attacks

A group called the Socialist Rifle Association, made up of over 10,000 members has been conducting training for socialist and transgender extremists, and the group has now been linked to four major crimes, according to an investigation from the Daily Wire. As the report has been published, the leadership on their website appear to have attempted to hide their names.

As the report from the outlet was released this week, the leadership link on their website has been redirected to the music video for Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up, in a move commonly known as a Rick Roll. However, archives of the website as of August 14 this year still display the names and contact information of the leadership officers in the organization.

The president goes by the first name of “Hope” and identifies with “she/they” pronouns. Many others on the leadership list use “they/them pronouns, indicating those in leadership of the socialist organization identify as transgender or nonbinary. The rest of the leadership only goes by their first names as well. 

According to the investigation from the Daily Wie, members of the Socialist Rifle Association get membership cards with the quote, “Any attempt to disarm workers must be frustrated, by force if necessary,” with a picture of Karl Marx. They stock up on rifles and other gear. A common logo used by the group is the transgender flag with the phrase “defend equality.” However, the videos presented by the group do not look like they are training for self-defense, but for combat.

The crimes that were linked to the group include the shooting of correctional officer in Texas on July 4, when a group of militants opened fire on DHS officers near an ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas. Benjamin Hanil Song, who was charged with shooting an officer in the neck, is part of the Socialist Rifle Association’s Dallas-Fort Worth chapter.

Paul Hyon Kim, the suspect charged with setting fire to and shooting up five Teslas in Las Vegas, also appears to be a member of the organization. Court documents said, “Kim has an Instagram page where he follows the Socialist Rifle Association’s page. In a post from October 2018, on the Reno Socialist Rifle Association’s Instagram page, is a picture of a subject that appears to be Paul Kim training with firearms.”

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Armed Queers group trains radical Marxists to shoot just miles from where Charlie Kirk was murdered

Amid the snow-capped mountains and Mormon churches of Utah, not far from where FBI agents continue to scour for more evidence in Charlie Kirk’s assassination, a self-described armed revolutionary group openly aligned with Cuba has risen up on the streets of one of America’s most conservative states.

Armed Queers SLC says its mission is to train gay, queer and transgender people to arm themselves and to fight against capitalism. Although their purported Facebook page does not directly appear to encourage the use of firearms in their claimed mission, many of the images used depict firearms. As recently as this spring, its members traveled to Cuba for a meeting to celebrate the May Day holiday and participate in a march and events alongside revolutionaries from around the world.

The group posted photos on its public Instagram account—which was deleted on Friday—of its young students attending, and its leaders openly discussed how the communist regime agenda and this American group’s agenda were aligned in a YouTube video after the visit to Havana. The video has been scrubbed and is not available in any web archive, but Just the News took a careful transcription of the discussion prior to its deletion.

Two leaders of Armed Queers — Ermyia Fanaeian and a man who called himself “Connor” — discussed their trip to Cuba in a since-deleted May video titled, “Cuba Report Back: Our Time as 2025 May Day Brigadistas.” A search by Just the News could not positively identify him. 

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