Tag: gun control

Despite New Gun Controls, Homicides Are Spiking in Colorado’s Democratic Stronghold

When the FBI’s official crime stats come out later this year, we’re likely to learn that 2025 saw a record-setting decline in homicides nationwide, and that the overall homicide rate is the lowest it’s been since the FBI started keeping track in 1960. 

That welcome trend seems to be continuing in 2026, with criminologist Jeff Asher’s Real Time Crime Index showing another 22% decline in homicides through the first two months of the year. 

Still, there are some outliers, and one of them is Denver, Colorado. Last year Denver saw a 48% decrease in homicides, with Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas pointing to “a mix of faster police response, medical intervention, and long-term prevention strategies.” This year, though, homicides are trending in the wrong direction.

Data provided by police show that total crime, violent crime and reported gun-related offenses are down compared with both last year and recent averages. At the same time, homicides have risen compared with this point last year, with 17 reported so far in 2026, up from 10 during the same period in 2025.

Last year, Democrats in the Colorado legislature added several new restrictions to the spate of gun control laws that have been put in place since 2011, but they don’t appear to be having any kind of impact on homicides in the state’s biggest city. That’s hardly a surprise, though, given that violent crime overall climbed steadily over most of the past 15 years. 

In May, 2024 the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice released its report documenting crime rates between 2013 and 2022. Over that ten year period, violent crime rose by 61%, homicides increased by 94%, and aggravated assaults grew 88%. 

During that same ten-year period, Colorado instituted a number of gun control laws, starting with “universal” background checks and a ban on “large capacity” magazines in 2013. That was followed by a “red flag” law in 2019, and in 2021, new storage mandates for gun owners, a “lost or stolen” reporting requirement, and an end to the state’s firearm preemption law. 

Despite having almost a dozen anti-2A measures implemented over that time period, the homicide rate nearly doubled, and violent crime rates soared ever upward. 

Supposedly, overall violent crimes are down in Denver this year, even though homicides have increased by 70%, according to the CBS affiliate. Oddly, the Denver PD’s homicide dashboard reports 16, not 17 homicides, but even that is a 60% increase in murders. Non-fatal shootings have declined by 12% this  year, according to police, though in raw numbers we’re talking about five fewer incidents over the first 3 1/2 months of the year, which is hardly anything to write home about. 

The number of gun-involved homicides is also higher this year than at the same point in 2025, which is yet another sign that Colorado’s restrictive gun laws aren’t preventing violent offenders from getting their hands on a firearm. In the first four months of 2025 there were 10 homicides involving a firearm. We still have almost two weeks left in April, but Denver has already seen 12 homicides where a gun was involved. 

Of course, none of these statistics will matter to the anti-gun Democrats who keep ramming gun control laws through the legislature. They may use crime and public safety as a rationale for these laws, but the real goal is to prevent and prohibit lawful gun ownership. If violent crime falls at the same time, all the better, but that’s clearly not necessary for them to continue their crackdown on the exercise of our Second Amendment rights. 

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Minneapolis Man’s Conviction Really Proof Gun Control Is Useless

Gun control advocates insist on arguing that gun control works. They go to great pains to “prove” it works, too, which means garbage studies, ridiculous claims, and correlation lacking causation except when it works against them.

One of my all-time favorite arguments was one where someone tried arguing that the NFA was proof that gun control works because there are so few crimes carried out with machine guns since it passed. Never mind that it wasn’t sold to the public as gun control; it was proof. Especially with the 1986 ban preventing new weapons from being registered.

In fairness, it wasn’t as easy to offer a rebuttal as some might like to think, because crimes with NFA weapons were pretty low, and this was after the full-auto drive-bys of the 1990s. It wasn’t common.

Now, it was clear that wasn’t the case, but it was harder to argue against than a lot of other anti-gun claims.

But these days, it’s not difficult at all to show just how idiotic the whole thing is, especially now. I mean, if the NFA worked as that guy claimed, then how did this guy get in a position to be convicted in the first place?

A federal jury in the District of Minnesota convicted a Minnesota man today of possessing a machine gun created by attaching an illegal machine gun conversion device to a semi-automatic firearm.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Amiir Mawlid Ali, 19, of Minneapolis, was arrested after officers found a machine gun in his possession during a routine traffic stop as he was on the way to a high school graduation. Mr. Ali tried to flee the scene during the traffic stop but officers apprehended him before he could get away. The firearm was equipped with a machine gun conversion device and an extended magazine, which was loaded with over 30 rounds of ammunition. A firearm expert testified at trial that the machine gun possessed by Ali test fired 15 bullets in 2 seconds.

“This defendant possessed an extremely dangerous weapon – a machine gun created by the application of a device known as a switch that converts a legal firearm to an illegal one,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Illegal weapons like this are unduly dangerous and offer nothing legitimate in a law abiding society. The Criminal Division will continue to prosecute illegal firearms offenses like this one to keep communities safe.”

“The verdict announced today makes clear that possession of a firearm modified to function as a machine gun will not be tolerated,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson of the FBI Minneapolis Field Office. “The FBI is proud of our work on this case, and we thank our Local, State and Federal law enforcement partners for their assistance. Together we will work to stop those who put innocent lives in our community at risk.”

The rise of the 3D printer has done something that cannot be undone. It has made it so people can make things for themselves, even if the authorities don’t approve.

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Gun Control Activist Calling on Fellow Travelers to Say Quiet Part Out Loud

We all know it’s gun control, even if they use phrases like “gun safety” or “gun violence prevention.” We know because their solutions are always about restricting the right to keep and bear arms. Always.

Oh, they might offer some kind of education, but even that generally boils down to, “You’re too incompetent to be trusted with a gun, so you really shouldn’t get one, and if you do, the only way to be safe with it is to make it useless for self-defense, so here’s how.”

It’s stupid.

But Po Murray, co-founder and chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance, thinks it’s time to take the euphemisms and toss them.

In the years that followed, I embraced the language many in our movement adopted. I spoke about “gun safety” and “gun violence prevention” because we were told these terms would resonate more broadly, reduce polarization, and help us reach people who might otherwise shut down when they heard “gun control”. That strategy had value. It opened doors and helped grow the movement, but it did not change the fundamental political reality we are up against, and it has not been enough to meet the scale of this crisis. I strongly believed in that approach, and for many years, I used that language intentionally. I even castigated my husband for using “gun control” during the first year of my advocacy journey.

But as I reflect on where we are today, I no longer believe this is a choice between one set of words or another. I believe we need all of them, and we need to use them more intentionally.

At the same time, we need to be clear about what this work is ultimately about. It is about freedom. Not abstract freedom, but the freedom to live our daily lives without fear. The freedom to send our children to school, to gather in our communities, to worship, to work, and to simply exist without the constant threat of gun violence. When that fear shapes how we move through the world, our freedoms are no longer fully ours.

Of course, me being disarmed would mean I have to live in fear, which never seems to factor into their equations. It seems their fears are the only ones that matter. Strange, isn’t it?

I’m also trying to figure out how gun rights are “abstract freedom,” but freedom from someone that you’re probably never going to experience anyway isn’t abstract.

Anyway, I get that Murray wants to be safe. She even talks a bit about the benefits of “gun safety” and “gun violence prevention,” then she gets to the money shot, the one where it’s clear what this is all about, and it’s about how she doesn’t want gun control activists to keep the quiet part quiet.

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You’ll Roll Your Eyes When You Find Out What New York Democrats Want to Ban Next

Democratic lawmakers in New York are championing an innovative new piece of legislation that would protect residents by banning BB guns.

You read that right. Democrats think preventing people from using BB guns and other imitation firearms will somehow keep people safe.

New York Senate Bill S9212 was introduced in February, and it would amend the state’s General Business Law to expand regulations around airguns and other imitation weapons. It updates the legal definition of “imitation weapon” to include air rifles and pellet guns. Under the updated language, “Imitation weapon” refers to any device or object, “including an air rifle, pellet gun, or ‘B-B’ gun,” made of plastic, wood, metal or any other material which can be perceived as a firearm. 

The measure would also impose more severe restrictions on who can purchase certain types of air guns. It prohibits companies from selling these products to anyone under 18. Currently, one has to be at least 16 to purchase these products. 

The bill also toughens enforcement by increasing the financial penalty for violators. Anyone who breaks this law “shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for each violation,” an increase from the previous cap of $500.

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Data Breach Exposing French Gun Owners a Warning to America

Anytime there’s a list of anything, there are going to be people who want to view that list for whatever reason. As we are firmly in the 21st century, that list is going to be digital more often than not, and that means the number of people who want to get that data increases exponentially. Especially when it’s something like a gun registry.

Luckily, federal law bars the federal government from creating a gun registry, though let’s be real here. If they change their minds, they’ll repeal the law in a heartbeat. It won’t stop them. Hell, it’s not even stopping the ATF from digitizing old records, which is really just a gun registry with a different name.

France, however, didn’t think gun registries were a bad thing.

Now, though, they’re finding out that data breaches into that registry are.

In a development that will shock absolutely nobody acquainted with the realities of gun control, there was another security breach of firearm owner data maintained by a government agency. This one took place in France, and an online cybersecurity resource, NeuraCyb Cybersecurity, reported it involved that country’s firearm registration system. Known as the Système d’Information sur les Armes (SIA), all law-abiding French gun owners are required to register information with it that includes, among other things, the gun owner’s name, address, firearms (including serial numbers), and a complete transaction history of each gun.

Because the SIA can be accessed in a number of ways—the firearms industry can access it to report commercial activity while gun owners can also access it to report any changes to their personal collection of firearms—it may be susceptible to being hacked from multiple points.

According to the NeuraCyb article:

Authorities detected the unauthorized access in late March 2026. The intrusion did not involve a direct hack of the central SIA database. Instead attackers used a compromised account belonging to a legitimate company or professional user authorized to interact with the system. This allowed them to extract commercial files stored within that specific account.

An anonymous hacker who took credit for the breach claimed to have stolen information on roughly 60,000 firearms and has allegedly offered to sell the data on underground online forums.  It is currently unknown how many law-abiding French gun owners might now have their personal information floating around the Internet and offered for sale to the highest (and shadiest) bidder, but some estimate it would be in the tens of thousands.

The absolute best-case scenario here is that the hacker just took the data because he needed proof he’d actually hacked it. In the hacker world, there are bragging rights to hacking certain systems, and having data from it proves you did it. They don’t want to do anything with the data so much as just support their claims and win acclaim in the hacking universe. He’s just saying he was going to sell it to make himself look cooler.

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Virginia Governor Signs Law Banning ‘Ghost Guns’

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a bill to ban so-called “ghost guns,” another making it easier to sue gunmakers and sellers, and two other bills concerning possession of firearms by persons under court orders.

The bills – signed on April 10 – are among more than two dozen gun control and gun safety bills that the Virginia General Assembly sent to Spanberger after its regular session ended on March 24.

“Preventing gun violence is an issue of public safety – both for the officers who protect our streets and the children and families they work to keep safe,” the governor said in a statement.

Spanberger signed Senate Bill 323, which bans the manufacture, sale, and possession of firearms without serial numbers.

The new law also outlaws any gun that “after removal of all parts other than a major component, … is not detectable as a firearm when subjected to inspection by the types of detection devices, including X-ray machines, commonly used at airports, government buildings, schools, correctional facilities, and other locations for security screening.”

Senate Bill 27, which Spanberger also signed, sets standards of “responsible conduct” for firearm manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.

It calls for “reasonable controls” over the manufacture, sale, distribution, use, and marketing of firearm-related products.

It also allows the attorney general, local government attorneys, or private citizens to sue firearm businesses for injunctions, damages, and costs.

Spanberger also signed two bills concerning the possession of firearms by those under court orders.

According to Spanberger’s office, Senate Bill 160 closes an “intimate partner loophole” by prohibiting intimate partners convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence crimes from possessing a firearm.

The law adds to the definition of “family or household member,” an individual who, “within the previous 12 months, was in a romantic, dating, or sexual relationship with the person.”

Senate Bill 38 allows a person subject to a protective order or convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence and prohibited from possessing a firearm, to transfer their firearm to a person who is age 21 or older, who does not live in their home, and can legally own a gun.

These bills are the first of a slate of gun control and gun safety laws to be signed after the most recent session.

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New ATF Rule Should Dismantle Billion-Record Gun Registry

The Trump administration will soon release a rule dealing with ATF’s illegal registry. It will change the Biden-era requirement that gun dealers permanently keep all firearm transaction records. 

Ending the permanent retention of these records is could be a huge step in the right direction, since the Biden ATF’s entire plan was to use these forms to continue building their illegal gun registry.  

So how does GOA know this?  

Well in case you missed our video on it, the Trump administration’s proposed new director of the ATF, Robert Cekada, answered questions from Senators following his hearing.  

These “Questions for the Record” or QFRs, are questions that could not be asked during hearings because of time constraints. Nominees submit their answers creating a via a public legal record that is published before their confirmation vote.

These answers can be enlightening where a nominee stands on particularly complex issues.

Specifically, Senator Ted Cruz asked about ATF’s 920 million-record illegal registry and how many documents they’ve added in the 4-year gap since the ATF last updated those figures.  

In his response, Deputy Director Cekada said  

“Consistent with the President’s Executive Order on the Second Amendment, ATF is also undertaking a review of how long firearm transaction records should be maintained.” 

In another question from Senator Cruz, he asks what’s the point in maintaining infinite or even more than 10 years of records when the average national time to crime is less than 10 years, and there are few traces that use records older than 20 years. 

In Cekada’s response to this question, he says:  

“Further, in accordance with the President’s Executive Order, Protecting Second Amendment Rights, ATF has been working with the Department to conduct a thorough review of existing regulations to assess whether they infringe on Second Amendment rights. As part of this review, we are examining the law enforcement value of older firearm transaction records. The results of that review should be forthcoming shortly.”  “ 

Thanks to these public records, we KNOW the ATF is looking into ending the Biden era Rule that made all gun transaction records or ATF Form 4473s into permanent records. And this is “coming soon.”

Ending the Biden era rule is good news. Permanent record retention was a crucial step in the anti-gun lobby’s plan to build a complete registry of all guns and gun owners in the United States to be used eventually for confiscation.

But before the permanent record retention rule, Federal Firearms Licensees only needed to keep their records for 20 years; afterwards they could destroy them.

So right now, the ATF and FFLs nationwide have every single dealer sale record since 2002. That’s a pretty significant number of records, which the ATF is attempting to turn into a registry as you read this article.

There is no public information outside of Cekada’s responses to Senator Cruz about what the rule will look like. But, in light of this information, the GOA’s Legal and Federal Affairs teams have put together a proposal to the DOJ, ATF, and the Trump administration on what a “No Compromise” rule would look like.  

And don’t worry, we’re still lobbying Congress to delete the registry with Rep. Michael Cloud’s No REGISTRY Rights Act and some appropriations language that Rep. Andrew Clyde has been introducing the last couple of years.

And of course, we’re continuing our lawsuit against the Biden-era rule that made these records permanent. But there’s a path here for President Trump to really restore our Second Amendment rights and dismantle this registry.

Ideally, ATF’s record retention period should be zero years.

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RI State Rep: Banning AR-15s Not Enough; We Should Use ‘Police Power’ to Ensure Owners Dispose of Them

On Wednesday, Rhode Island state Rep. Teresa Tanzi (D) spoke in support of efforts to repeal a legislative grandfather clause and use “police power” to force AR-15 owners to dispose of their rifles.

Breitbart News noted in March that Democrats in Rhode Island’s state legislature were trying to remove the grandfather clause that was contained in the “assault weapons” ban passed last year. The grandfather clause allowed those who owned newly prohibited firearms to retain possession of them. But now, the Democrats are pushing to remove the grandfathered aspect of the ban and implement a prison sentence for merely possessing an AR-15. The legislation through which they are attempting this is H8073.

Tanzi spoke in favor of H8703 on Wednesday, saying, “Last year, we as a body, banned the sale, manufacture, and transfer, of certain ‘assault weapons’ as defined in that law. That was an important step, but it was only a partial one. We should be honest about that.”

She continued:

Right now our law draws an arbitrary line. We have said that these firearms cannot enter the market place going forward, but we continue to allow them to remain in circulation indefinitely. … If these weapons are too dangerous to be sold in Rhode Island then we really should have addressed possession at the same time. We didn’t, and this bill [H8073] corrects that.”

Tanzi explained that H8073 will force current AR-15 owners “to come into compliance by selling or transferring them lawfully.”

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Backlash After NYC Mayor Mamdani Blames Death of 7-Month Old Baby on Guns Instead of the Violent Criminals Who Killed Her

Radical socialist Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, is facing backlash for politicizing the death of a 7-month-old baby and blaming ‘guns’ instead of the violent criminals responsible for the tragedy.

On Wednesday, the baby, Kaori Patterson-Moore, was shot and killed as her mother pushed her in a stroller down a Brooklyn Street. Two men drove past on a moped, with one of the men firing two shots at passersby.

Per The New York Post:

Sources said the tot’s mom heard the shots and rushed her daughter into a nearby bodega for shelter — then looked down at the stroller and saw the blood.

The suspects fled but crashed the moped two blocks away, sending one of them to the hospital where he was identified as a person of interest and the second goon still on the run.

Meanwhile, the tragic youngster was rushed by ambulance to Woodhull Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 1:46 p.m.

Rather than addressing NYC’s soft-on-crime policies and blaming the actual violent perpetrators, Mamdani instead blamed guns.

Mamdani said during a press conference, “Earlier today, a 7-month-old baby was shot and killed on the corner of Moore Street and Humboldt Street here in Brooklyn. A life that had barely begun was taken in an instant.”

“This is not the first family in our city to know this pain. Too many children have never grown up into becoming adults. Too many parents have had to bury those that they love the most. We cannot accept this as normal. In our city.”

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Rogue ATF Defies Federal Courts, Continues To Target Law-Abiding Gun Owners Over ‘Illegal’ Pistol Brace Rule

The federal government is now being accused of continuing to enforce the same pistol brace interpretation that federal courts have already struck down, exposing law-abiding Americans to potential felony charges carrying up to 10 years in prison.

The Biden-era pistol brace rule, which reclassified millions of braced pistols as short-barreled rifles under the National Firearms Act (NFA), was vacated by federal courts and deemed unlawful.

Following that defeat, the Department of Justice quietly dropped its appeal, effectively leaving the rule dead and unenforceable nationwide.

Last year, the firearm community celebrated a definitive victory.

According to FFL Guard, in cases like Mock v. Bondi (formerly Mock v. Garland), federal judges slammed the Biden-era rule that overnight reclassified millions of braced pistols as “short-barreled rifles” (SBRs).

The courts found the ATF’s move was “arbitrary and capricious,” a blatant violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, and a direct assault on the Second Amendment.

Even the DOJ seemed to wave the white flag, dropping its appeal in 2025. But according to a March 2026 court filing in Texas v. ATF, the agency is now claiming that, while the rule is gone, its interpretation remains.

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