Tag: ar-15

Huge Win for Second Amendment — Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down New Jersey’s Unconstitutional Semi-Automatic Rifle Ban and Magazine Limit

The anti-gun agenda suffered a major legal defeat on Friday after the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that New Jersey’s ban on semi-automatic rifles and its prohibition on magazines holding more than 10 rounds violate the Second Amendment.

In a sweeping 10-5 en banc decision, the Third Circuit held that New Jersey’s so-called “assault firearm” ban cannot survive the constitutional test established by the U.S. Supreme Court in its landmark 2022 New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision. The court also struck down the state’s 10-round magazine limit.

The 192-page opinion concluded that New Jersey’s prohibition on semi-automatic rifles, including the popular AR-15 platform, and its restrictions on so-called “large-capacity magazines” infringe on the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

Writing for the majority, the court declared:

“Applying the framework announced in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), we agree with the District Court that New Jersey’s ban on Colt AR-15s violates the Second Amendment. However, because the record supports the same result for all semi-automatic rifles—not only Colt AR-15s—we will MODIFY the District Court’s order so that it deems the Assault Firearm Provisions unconstitutional with respect to the full class of semi-automatic rifles.

We will AFFIRM that part of the order as modified. The LCM Provisions also violate the Second Amendment, so we will REVERSE the District Court’s order with respect to those. Because the LCM Provisions violate the Second Amendment, we need not address the Takings Clause challenge.”

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In the Nick of Time: NRA Secures Injunction Against Virginia ‘Assault Weapons’ and Magazine Ban

On Monday, the NRA secured a preliminary injunction against enforcement of Virginia’s “assault weapons” and 15-plus rounds magazine ban.

The case, Santolla v. Katz, was heard by Judge Jeffrey Campbell, a former Republican member of Virginia’s House of Delegates.

The NRA announced the filing of the lawsuit on May 14, 2026, noting that plaintiffs included the Virginia Shooting Sports Association (VSSA), Middletown Firearms, Middletown Training, Virginia Pride Ltd., and VSSA members Joseph Santolla, and Reagan Adams.

Virginia Scope reporter Brandon Jarvis published Campbell’s ruling, wherein he wrote, “…the Motion for Preliminary Injunction enjoining the Defendants from enforcing the subject Firearms Ban and Magazine Bans as contemplated by the recently enacted Senate Bill 749 and House Bill 217 is GRANTED.”

Judge Campbell noted, “This injunction shall remain in effect until further Order of this Court or no later than July 1, 2027, consistent with the Governor’s recently passed budget amendment, and this matter is continued on the docket of this Court for any additional proceedings as the parties may so advise.”

The “assault weapons” and 15-plus rounds magazine ban was set to take effect July 1, 2026.

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12 Sheriffs, 17 Prosecutors Who Will Not Enforce Virginia AR-15 Ban

The number of sheriffs and commonwealth attorneys who are taking a stand against the Democrats’ AR-15 has grown so that now 12 sheriffs and 17 prosecutors have made clear they will not enforce it.

On May 25, 2026, Breitbart News reported that Spotsylvania commonwealth attorney Ryan Mehaffey had made clear he would not enforce the ban. Days later, Breitbart News pointed to a WAVY 10 article which observed that the number of prosecutors refusing to enforce the ban was continuing to grow.

On May 30, 2026, Breitbart News noted that Clarke County Sheriff Travis Sumption making clear his office would not enforce the state’s “assault weapons” ban nor the “expanded public-carry restrictions.”

Now, Virginia Citizens Defense League president Philip Van Cleave has released a list showing the number of prosecutors refusing to enforce the ban has reached 17 and the number of sheriffs is at 12.

Here are the prosecutors who are taking a stand for Virginians’ gun rights:

  • W. Lyle Carver, Amherst County
  • Leslie M. Fleet, Appomattox County
  • Paul A. McAndrews, Campbell County
  • Daniel J. Farnsworth Jr., Charlotte County
  • Matthew E. Bass, Clarke County
  • W. Eric Branscom, Floyd County
  • John L. Lumpkins Jr., Goochland County
  • Bethany Harrison, Lynchburg
  • Chapman L. Good, Sr., Page County
  • Dayna K. Bobbitt, Patrick County
  • Rob Cerullo, Powhatan County
  • Justin L. Griffith, Pulaski County
  • Kyle Kilgore, Scott County
  • Elizabeth H. Cooper, Shenandoah County
  • Phillip Blevins, Smyth County
  • Ryan Mehaffey, Spotsylvania County
  • John S. Bell, Warren County

Here are the 12 sheriffs: Appomattox County Sheriff, Robert N. Richardson, Clarke County Sheriff, Travis M. Sumption, Floyd County Sheriff, Brian Craig, Hanover County Sheriff, Gregory W. Six, Henry County, Sheriff Wayne Davis, Louisa County Sheriff, Donald Lowe, Patrick County, Sheriff Daniel M. Smith, Powhatan County Sheriff, Brad W. Nunnally Jr., Scott County Sheriff, Jeff B. Edds, Shenandoah County Sheriff, Timothy C. Carter, Spotsylvania County Sheriff, Roger L. Harris, and Warren County Sheriff, Crystal M. Cline.

The ban on AR-15s and similar rifles, along with magazines holding more than 15 rounds, is set to take effect July 1, 2026.

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Top DOJ official predicts Supreme Court will declare AR-15 rifles legal everywhere in America

The Justice Department’s top civil rights lawyer believes the Trump administration’s lawsuit this week against the city of Denver’s gun ban will one day soon lead to a Supreme Court decision legalizing the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle – revered by gun owners and reviled by liberals – in every jurisdiction in America.

“We intend to make sure they do that,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in an interview set to be aired Wednesday night on the Just the News, No Noise television show.

Dhillon spoke just hours after her office filed a lawsuit against the city of Denver over its ban on “assault rifles,” arguing the ban violates residents’ Second Amendment rights. 

The ban covers AR-15-style rifles, which the complaint argues are owned by “tens of millions” of Americans, 

The complaint also describes the use of the term “assault rifle” in the Denver law’s language as a “rhetorically politically charged” term used by “anti-gun publicists.” 

In addition, the suit cites the 2008 Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which held that the Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding citizens to possess weapons that are in common use for lawful purposes.

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NJ’s AR-15 ban is unconstitutional, but 10-round magazine limit OK, federal judge rules

New Jersey’s ban on the AR-15 rifle is unconstitutional, but the state’s cap on magazines over 10 rounds passes constitutional muster, a federal judge said Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Peter Sheridan’s 69-page opinion says he was compelled to rule as he did because of the Supreme Court’s rulings in firearms cases, particularly the 2022 Bruen decision that expanded gun rights.

Sheridan’s ruling left both 2nd Amendment advocates and the state attorney general planning appeals. The judge temporarily delayed the order for 30 days.

Pointing to the high court’s precedents, Sheridan suggested Congress and the president could do more to curb gun-related violence nationwide.

“It is hard to accept the Supreme Court’s pronouncements that certain firearms policy choices are ‘off the table’ when frequently, radical individuals possess and use these same firearms for evil purposes,” he wrote.

Sheridan added: “Where the Supreme Court has set for the law of our Nation, as a lower court, I am bound to follow it. … This principle — combined with the reckless inaction of our governmental leaders to address the mass shooting tragedy afflicting our Nation — necessitates the Court’s decision.”

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Biden Seeks to ‘Outlaw’ AR-15s After Failed Trump Assassination

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden spoke to the NAACP and called for Congress to “outlaw” AR-15s and similar rifles in the wake of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

Biden began by saying, “If you’re going to speak about violence, you’re going t to speak about guns.”

He said, “An AR-15 was used in shooting Donald Trump, this was the ‘assault weapon’ that killed so many others, including children. It’s time to outlaw them. I did it once and I will do it again.”

Biden also repeated his false claim that “more children in America die of gunshot wounds than any other reason.”

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Guess what a left-wing Fox News personality said AR-15 stands for

Geraldo Rivera, a left-wing Fox News Channel personality, suggested on “The Five” that the “AR” in “AR-15” stands for “automatic rifle” — he gave the answer after Greg Gutfeld asked Rivera what “AR”stands for.

Rivera suggested that owning an AR-15 is about people being macho and claimed that there is not a legitimate purpose for owning one, aside from perhaps being used in sport clubs.

“Those most passionate about ‘gun control’ tend to know the least about guns,” the Daily Caller tweeted when sharing a clip of Rivera.

“Heard the Daily Caller and fellow travelers are ranting about my incorrect definition on-air of ‘AR’ as in AR-15. Whatever. Point is, there is no place (other than sporting clubs and similar skilled settings) for assault rifles. They’re substitute appendages,” Rivera tweeted.

NPR has indicated that the “AR” traces back to, ArmaLite, Inc. and stands for ArmaLite Rifle.

The modern AR-15-style weapons made by gun manufacturers are semi-automatic — the guns have become a significant point of societal debate, with opponents often referring to them as “assault weapons” and calling for them to be banned.

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Biden Claims Bullet Out of AR-15 Is 5X Faster than Bullet Out of Any Other Gun

While speaking in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday President Biden said, “The bullet out of an AR-15 travels five times as rapidly as a bullet shot out of any other gun.”

Ironically, on June 30, 2022, Field & Stream did an in-depth look at the “Five Fastest Rifle Cartridges” and the two AR-15 rounds, .223 and 5.56, did not even make the cut.

Here are the top rounds, as listed by Field & Stream, and the feet per second (fps) they travel upon being fired:

  1. .220 Swift — A 40-Grain .220 Swift round moves approx. 4,300 fps.
  2. .257 Weatherby Magnum — An 87-Grain .257 Weatherby Magnum round moves approx. 3,700+ fps.
  3. .30/378 Weatherby — An 165-Grain .30/378 Weatherby round moves approx. 3,400+ fps.
  4. .224 Clark — An 80-Grain .224 Clark round moves approx. 3,500+ fps.
  5. .22 Eargesplitten Loudenboomer — A 50-Grain .22 Eargesplitten Loudenboomer round moves approx. 4,600 fps.

By contrast the two AR-15 rounds move at approx. 2,700 – 3,100 fps.

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Whoopi Goldberg Thinks The AR15 Should Be Banned Because It ‘Turns People To Dust’

If you want to find some of the dumbest political hot takes of the past five years, you only need to have a strong stomach and the patience to sit through the numerous uneducated discussions of the clucking flock on The View.

Whoopi Goldberg continues this winning tradition (The View’s audience numbers tanked this year and it remains 10th among women 18-49 in daytime television) with her recent comments on gun control, arguing in favor of criminal arrest for Americans that own AR15s that refuse to give them up. When pressed on the fact that gun crimes could just as easily be committed with pistols during a largely one sided debate against her co-host, Goldberg argued that handguns “don’t turn people to dust.”

Neither do AR15s, but lets not bring reality into a debate that was broadcast on The View. Injury and death is just as likely from a handgun as it is from an AR15. You are also more likely to find expanding hollow point ammo used in a pistol. The primary difference is that a pistol’s range is limited, usually to 50 yards or less. This makes little difference though, as most shooting events and crimes occur within 50 yards anyway, and this includes shootings where rifles are involved.

Whether or not this was hyperbole, the insane misconceptions put out into the mainstream by anti-2nd Amendment activists falls in line with a long series of lies and gaffes uttered by Joe Biden and other Democrats. If you don’t know anything about the weapons you are trying to ban, then maybe you shouldn’t be trying to ban them?

The fact is, the vast majority of gun crimes and gun related homicides are committed with handguns according to FBI stats; only 2%-3% of crimes and homicides are committed using rifles or “assault rifles” on average. The claim that the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban had any bearing on the overall decline in gun crime in the 1990s is false – The largest decline was in handgun homicides, and handguns were not subject to the 1994 ban.

Goldberg’s assertion that gun rights advocates should compromise and allow the banning of this “one gun” is naive; gun grabbers will never be satisfied with limited gun control, only total gun confiscation (at least among the poor and the people that oppose them politically). Say what you want about Beto O’Rourke, but his big mouth is valuable in that he often lets slip what the real agenda on gun control is.

Goldberg then goes on to suggest that people can “report” AR15 owners and have them arrested, saying the solution is “simple” and compared this to reporting and arresting women who abort their babies in states where abortion is banned. Interesting how the political left is rabidly in favor of killing people in the womb despite numerous other birth control options, but wants to strip all law abiding citizens of their rights whenever people die from gun related homicides.

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