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IA: Two charged in apparent self-defense Des Moines homicide
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Police say 35-year-old Devonte Moten "attacked" 21-year-old Jaylen Cooper as Cooper and 19-year-old Anijah Ford returned to an apartment. Cooper, who was armed, shot Moten once. Moten drove away before collapsing near 12th Street and Keo Way and later died at a hospital.
Parizek told the Des Moines Register that “evidence indicates Cooper fired his handgun in self-defense.”
Both Cooper and Ford are charged with felony conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance and misdemeanor obstruction, according to the news release. Neither Cooper nor Ford has been charged with murder or manslaughter. |
RI: Gun owners muster for RI State House hearing, looking to head off proposed restrictions
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Yellow was the dominant color Wednesday as hundreds of Second Amendment advocates packed the State House rotunda in their annual show of opposition to firearms-related proposals under consideration by lawmakers.
But there still were pockets of gun control supporters in orange and red shirts in hallways and the House Lounge who came out to support most of the 17 bills the House Committee on Judiciary heard during nearly five hours of testimony. They were the first set of firearm-related legislation considered by the committee after mass shootings at Brown University and Pawtucket’s Dennis M. Lynch Arena. |
Trump DOJ Keeps Biden’s Ghost Gun Rule in Place, Defying White House’s Own Second Amendment Executive Order
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The Department of Justice has informed a federal court that it will maintain the Biden-era ATF rule restricting homemade firearms, even as the Trump White House had previously called that same rule an attack on gun owners that “undermines the Second Amendment.”
The decision came in the ongoing case VanDerStok v. Blanche, currently in the Northern District of Texas. In a letter dated April 8, 2026, DOJ trial attorneys notified all parties that, following a review prompted by President Trump’s Executive Order 14206 titled “Protecting Second Amendment Rights,” the government has chosen to keep the current definition of firearm “frame” and “receiver” contained in ATF Final Rule 2021R-05F. |
UK: Liz Truss suggests UK should get right to bear arms due to 'state abusing power'
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Britain’s briefest prime minister Liz Truss has said she can ‘see the logic’ behind the US right to bear arms due to ‘the way citizens are being suppressed’.
The ex-PM, who lasted just 49 days in the top job in autumn 2022, told the tiny audience for her eponymous YouTube show the state was ‘misusing its power’.
She was speaking to her guest Greg Bovino, the controversial former boss of Donald Trump’s Border Patrol.
Bovino gained notoriety for his handling of an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, where two American citizens were killed in the space of three weeks in January. |
State Judges Turn to Guns in New Era of Judicial Threats
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So she bought a gun, as the sheriff had already advised her to do, and enrolled in courses to learn how to shoot it. When the video was posted, she installed a home security system, altered her daily travel routes and stopped sitting with her back to the door in restaurants or in the same pew at church.
“I was treated like threats were part of the job,” Judge Johnson said. “But it should not be a part of the job description to deal with threats of violence against your person. I didn’t sign up for that.” |
VA: Virginia State Police boss says troopers won't go door-to-door collecting guns: 'Very un-American'
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Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Jeffrey Katz wants Virginia gun owners to know police are not and will not come for their guns.
Col. Katz addressed what he called "recent online sentiment" which indicated Virginia passed laws to prompt police to go door-to-door to collect firearms from Virginians.
"I want to speak to this clearly and plainly. There is no legislative proposal seeking to do this, and there will not be," Katz said in a statement published to the Virginia State Police Facebook page. |
“Post-Modern” Judging and Guns
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Judge Lawrence VanDyke of the Ninth Circuit was appointed to his current post in 2020 and, since then, has been no stranger to the spotlight. Judge VanDyke is the rare federal judge who regularly makes headlines for his opinions, often dissents that stridently attack or satirize the views of his colleagues (the circuit itself remains majority Democrat-appointed).
Many of Judge VanDyke’s most controversial opinions have come in Second Amendment cases, including his video dissent from the circuit’s en banc decision in Duncan v. Bonta upholding California’s large-capacity magazine ban ... |
CA: SAF Files Motion For Summary Judgment In California Firearms Tax Case
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The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed a motion for summary judgment in Poway Weapons & Gear v. Gonzales, a lawsuit challenging California’s 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition.
In July 2024, Assembly Bill 28 went into effect in California, imposing an 11% tax on all firearms and ammunition sold throughout the state. The tax is imposed on the retail sale of “…any firearm, firearm precursor part, or ammunition” sold by licensed firearms dealers and manufacturers in the state. Plaintiffs in the case are Poway Weapons & Gear and Sacramento Gun Range. |
Knife Rights' FSA Appeal Oral Argument Summary
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On Wednesday, April 1st, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard oral argument in our appeal of the District Court's irrational decision in our Second Amendment challenge to the constitutionality of the Federal Switchblade Act (except the import ban). The judges had pointed questions for both sides. But, while they expressed concerns over the scope of the plaintiffs' challenge and their standing to bring the case, the three judges were very skeptical of the government's expansive reading of its authority to regulate. At one point the government suggested that it could even outright ban knives under the Second Amendment. |
States consider expanding campus carry laws, reigniting college gun debate
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Several states are considering legislation that would allow guns on college campuses, reigniting debate over safety and Second Amendment rights in higher education.
Lawmakers in New Hampshire, Florida, Utah, and Louisiana introduced bills this year to expand where firearms are allowed at public universities. Similar proposals have popped up in Wyoming and South Dakota. Some have passed, others are still being debated, while still others have stalled or been withdrawn.
Supporters say allowing legally carried firearms on campus could improve personal safety, but critics argue that more weapons could increase risks in academic settings. |
RI: Debate on gun restrictions takes spotlight at Rhode Island State House
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The debate over proposed gun restrictions took center stage inside the Rhode Island State House Wednesday evening.
Hundreds of Second Amendment supporters wore yellow in opposition to a number of gun-related proposals, including a ban on buying more than one gun in a 30-day period and a required firearm safety training for anyone looking to buy a gun. Opponents of the proposals outnumbered advocates, who wore red and orange.
"There's no middle ground to us when it comes to infringing on a natural right," Dan Kesler, the vice president of Para Bellum Provisions, said. "We understand all the safety arguments, and we agree with the safety arguments, but we believe that these bills attack law-abiding citizens." |
Silencer Shop Named GRPC Saturday Night Reception Sponsor
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The Gun Right Policy Conference (GRPC) planning committee is pleased to announce that Silencer Shop – the largest silencer distributor in the United States – has been named the event’s Saturday night reception sponsor.
Co-hosted by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), GRPC is scheduled for Sept. 25 – 27 in Dallas at the Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport hotel. |
WGR Leadership Brings Women's Voice to the White House and Capitol Hill
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Women for Gun Rights (WGR) Founder Dianna Muller, and other WGR leaders, recently participated in a series of strategic meetings in Washington, D.C., highlighting the growing influence of women in the Second Amendment community and strengthening relationships between grassroots advocates, policymakers, and the firearms industry.
Muller was joined by WGR leaders Beth Walker, Terri Hasdorff, and Jade Warwick, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Great Britain who shared her personal experience about the societal risks and cultural consequences of civilian disarmament. Her perspective reinforced the importance of protecting constitutional freedoms through education, advocacy, and responsible firearm ownership. |
Judge Roger Benitez Retires, Leaving Behind a Major Second Amendment Legacy
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Judge Benitez first became known as “Saint” Benitez after his decision in Duncan v. Becerra, later renamed Duncan v. Bonta.
Judge Benitez was assigned the case before he assumed senior status. The case took nearly two years to adjudicate. In this case, Judge Benitez granted a motion for summary judgment against the State of California. The summary judgment was in effect from March 29 to April 5, 2019. It became known as “Freedom Week”. Estimates suggest hundreds of thousands of magazines were legally purchased and shipped into California during that week. |
Democrat Gun Control Backfires as Virginia Gun Sales Surge, New Jersey Carry Permits Spike
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Two very revealing articles in two different East Coast states are showing plenty of evidence that Democrat gun policies are dramatically out of step with the public, as people in both jurisdictions are briskly exercising their gun rights.
In Virginia, where freshman Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s popularity is tanking after only a few months in office as she has just presided over a legislative session that saw lots of gun control measures passed, WJLA News says a new poll shows her losing ground by “double digits.” |
NH: Senate must reject unregulated guns on UNH campus
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Among the majority of students surveyed, 85% are opposed to this bill. While the few thousand surveyed are only a small fraction of the entire student population, 85% of almost 3,000 is a strong statement of opposition. If these students are adult enough to open carry weapons, adult enough to vote, and adult enough to say they do not want campus open carry, then why wouldn’t legislators listen to them?
The students who live on campus are aware more than any of us of what life is like in and out of the classroom. There is a pervasive use of alcohol. Young adults deal with mental health issues. Their frontal lobes are not fully developed. These are facts. Why would we want to introduce guns to this environment? |
SCOTUS Declines To Hear Illinois Case Involving Carry On Public Transportation
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In a very disappointing move, the U.S. Supreme Court chose to not hear an important lawsuit challenging the Illinois law banning carry of firearms for self-defense on modes of public transportation.
In the case Schoenthal v. Raoul, the justices denied certiorari, leaving in place a disastrous 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that upheld the ban.
In a poorly thought-out decision last September, the court ruled that “crowded spaces” like subways qualify as “sensitive places” where the government may broadly prohibit the exercise of the right to bear arms. |
Finally: Thanks to Pete Hegseth, American servicemen are no longer sitting ducks on their own bases
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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced late last week that American service members will once again be allowed to carry personal firearms on U.S. military bases.
“Our great republic was founded on a simple, yet bold idea. Our rights as citizens are not granted to us by government, but instead, by God," Hegseth said in a video posted to the social media site X on Thursday.
"The Second Amendment to our Constitution enshrines the right of all citizens to carry weapons to protect themselves, their families, and their fellow countrymen," he continued. |
New lawsuit pushes for guns in national park visitor centers
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A new lawsuit from the nonprofit Second Amendment Foundation challenges rules banning firearms in national park buildings, including visitor centers, ranger stations and offices.
The lawsuit, filed March 27 in federal court in Texas, was brought by the foundation alongside the Firearms Policy Coalition and firearms instructor Gary Zimmerman, who frequently visits national parks. It specifically targets Section 930(a) of U.S. Code Title 18, the federal law that prohibits people from knowingly carrying firearms inside government buildings. |
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