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[Stephen Halbrook] Second Amendment Roundup: Rehearing En Banc Sought in 5th Circuit Suppressor Case
11 Mar 2025, 6:24 pm
[The panel’s ruling that suppressed firearms aren’t protected should be reconsidered.] A petition for rehearing en banc has been filed seeking review of the Fifth Circuit's panel decision in United States v. Peterson, which held that noise suppressors (aka silencers or mufflers) are not "Arms" protected by the Second Amendment. As I recently posted about the case here, the decision overlooked that millions of law-abiding Americans use suppressed firearms for ear… [read post]
30 Sep 2024, 6:55 pm
This is my second installment preceding the upcoming October 8 argument in Garland v. VanDerStok, a challenge to the regulatory redefinition of the term "firearm" in the Gun Control Act. By expanding the statutory definition, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) in its 2022 Final Rule purports to criminalize numerous innocent acts that Congress never made illegal. Until the new rule, a kit with partially-machined raw material that can be fabricated into a… [read post]
11 Apr 2024, 7:04 pm
[The stay was issued without time to review the opinion and the motion to stay, and without allowing an opposition brief.] On April 8, Judge Gary B. Bashor of the Superior Court of Washington for Cowlitz County issued a summary judgment order finding Washington's ban on magazines holding over ten rounds violative of Washington's Declaration of Rights ("The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired") and the federal… [read post]
10 May 2023, 7:48 pm
While that denial was being appealed to the 7th Circuit, Judge Stephen McGlynn (S.D. [read post]
[Stephen Halbrook] Second Amendment Roundup: Hawaii's Ban on Firearms on Property Open to the Public
15 Jan 2026, 6:44 pm
[In Wolford, the Supreme Court should clarify the facial/as-applied issue.] As we have been posting, on January 20, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Wolford v. Lopez, where the question presented is: "Whether the Ninth Circuit erred in holding, in direct conflict with the Second Circuit, that Hawaii may presumptively prohibit the carry of handguns by licensed concealed carry permit holders on private property open to the public unless the property owner affirmatively gives express… [read post]
27 Mar 2023, 10:50 am
[Pistol designs are frozen in a 2007 time warp.] On March 20, 2023, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney of the Central District of California issued a preliminary injunction in Boland v. Bonta against enforcement of California's ban on the retail sale of semiautomatic pistols that do not have a chamber load indicator, a magazine disconnect mechanism, and microstamping capability. Since no pistols with all three features are manufactured nationwide, the Unsafe Handgun Act amounts to a… [read post]
[Stephen Halbrook] Second Amendment Roundup: Court Seems Disposed to Rule for S&W and Against Mexico
9 Mar 2025, 6:44 pm
[The Court should settle the proximate-cause issue, not just aiding and abetting.] The March 4 oral argument in Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos appeared to go very well for S&W and not well for Mexico. Mexico's lawsuit seeks to hold America's federally-licensed firearm industry responsible for the cartel violence that plagues Mexico and to prohibit the industry from doing ordinary business in compliance with the federal Gun Control Act. Congress enacted the… [read post]
20 Feb 2024, 7:13 pm
[It was déjà vu, but this time post-Bruen.] The District of Columbia's ban on firearm magazines that hold over ten rounds was the subject of oral argument in the D.C. Circuit on February 13. The case is Hanson v. District of Columbia, and the appeal concerns the district court's denial of a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the ban. The circuit panel included Judges Patricia Millett ('13) and Justin Walker ('20), and Senior Judge Douglas Ginsburg… [read post]
17 Dec 2023, 5:56 pm
[Some provisions remain enjoined, but the decision on “sensitive places” is problematic.] The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit released its long-awaited decision in Antonyuk v. Chiumento – all 261 pages of it – on December 8. The court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the Northern District of New York preliminarily enjoining major parts of New York's Concealed Carry Improvement Act, which was enacted to counter the Supreme… [read post]
1 Feb 2026, 7:18 pm
[No historical analogues justify felon possession ban for drug conviction.] On January 27, in United States v. Hembree, the Fifth Circuit held that the federal felon firearm ban (18 USC 922(g)(1)) based on a conviction for simple possession of methamphetamine violates the Second Amendment. Coincidentally, on March 2 the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in another case that came from the Fifth Circuit, United States v. Hemani, which concerns whether the federal firearm ban by an unlawful… [read post]
26 Nov 2024, 5:55 pm
"Applying the Text and History Methodology to Looming Second Amendment Battles After Rahimi" was the topic of a session on November 16 at the Federalist Society's 2024 National Lawyers Convention. You can listen to the remarks here. The moderator was Sixth Circuit Judge Amul Thapar, author of the delightful book The People's Justice: Clarence Thomas and the Constitutional Stories that Define Him. The panel featured three leading voices in the Second Amendment space. Speaker Mark… [read post]
22 Oct 2024, 7:27 pm
On October 4, the Supreme Court granted cert in Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos. It involves Mexico's suit against the American firearms industry, which alleges that the industry enables the drug cartels to empower their stranglehold over Mexican society. The First Circuit upheld the claim by reversing the dismissal of the case granted by the District Court in Massachusetts. The absurdity of Mexico's lawsuit is illuminated by action in another case just… [read post]
2 Oct 2024, 7:27 pm
Getting closer to October 8, when the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Garland v. VanDerStok, I'd like to address whether ATF's 2022 Final Rule drastically expanding the meaning of the statutory term "firearm" implicates the Second Amendment. By redefining "firearm" to include unfinished materials, information, jigs, and tools, the supply has dried up for persons freely to obtain what they need to construct self-made firearms. Indeed, that is the… [read post]
17 Nov 2009, 4:59 pm
The lead attorneys on the brief are Stephen Poss (attorney of record), Stephen Halbrook, and others [read post]
9 Feb 2025, 7:31 pm
On January 30, the Fifth Circuit decided Reese v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives, holding that the federal Gun Control Act's prohibition on the sale of firearms to persons under 21 years old, as applied to adults aged 18 to 20 years old, violates the Second Amendment. The law effectively banned handgun sales, as it has an exception for rifles and shotguns, which may be sold to persons 18 and older. The opinion was authored by Judge Edith H. Jones and was joined by… [read post]
28 Oct 2023, 6:25 pm
[An official may not deny the right to possess a firearm based on subjective criteria.] On Oct. 24, Judge John P. Cronan of the Southern District of New York rendered summary judgment in favor of an applicant for a license to possess firearms who had been denied for supposed inadequate "good moral character." The case is Srour v. City of New York. There were actually two license denials, one for a license to possess a rifle or shotgun, the other to possess a handgun. The… [read post]
14 Mar 2024, 6:41 pm
[Likelihood of prevailing on a constitutional claim may suffice for a preliminary injunction.] The Third Circuit heard oral argument on March 11 in a challenge to Delaware's ban on so-called "assault weapons" and ammunition magazines that hold over 17 rounds. Three overlapping cases were consolidated for argument on appeal from the denial of a preliminary injunction. Before the Court got into the meat of the Second Amendment dispute, Judge Stephanos Bibas raised a question about the… [read post]
9 Apr 2025, 7:05 pm
[Illinois court shows need to lay the issue to rest.] As I posted here, the March 4 oral argument in Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos appeared to go well for S&W and not well for Mexico. Mexico's lawsuit seeks to hold America's federally-licensed firearm industry responsible for the cartel violence that plagues Mexico. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) prohibits lawsuits against the gun industry for crimes committed by third parties.… [read post]
26 Sep 2024, 8:13 am
New York City requires a showing of "good moral character" to be issued a rifle and shotgun permit. In Srour v. New York City (2023), the Southern District of New York enjoined the enforcement of the "good moral character" requirement and a separate "good cause" requirement. I posted on the decision here. After filing its appeal, the City adopted definitions of those previously-undefined terms, Srour reapplied, and the City granted the permit. On… [read post]
8 Nov 2021, 10:04 am
Below, leading Second Amendment lawyer and scholar Stephen Halbrook provides some post-argument analysis [read post]
