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MO: Missouri prosecutors warn of expanding self-defense law
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The case involved Danielle Lechocki, who was charged with assault after pulling a knife during a verbal argument in which no one was injured. Her attorney, Matthew Mueller, argued she acted in self-defense.
“She testified that on the day in question the complaining witness threatened to Molly whop her, to physically assault her,” Mueller said.
A lower court initially rejected the self-defense claim, but an appeals court in February sent the case back after finding the jury was not instructed on self-defense.
“The opinion does greatly expand the use of self-defense, including the use of deadly force,” Mueller said. |
TN: Ex-girlfriend shoots ex-boyfriend after apartment attack
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A Raleigh woman said she was forced to shoot her ex-boyfriend when he showed up at her apartment early Wednesday morning and fired several shots into the apartment she shares with her sister and her 10-year-old child.
The ex-girlfriend, who wished to remain anonymous, said her ex came to her apartment on Westline Drive twice that day. She said the first time he banged on her door, and when she didn’t answer, he fired several shots in the air and left. |
Modern .22 LR Ammo Options: Hunting, Self-Defense & More
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Big things tend to come in small packages. That was not just the title of a song but a proverb. (If you are a pessimist, a cliché.) The .22 LR cartridge is just one example where the cliché rings true.
By the numbers, the .22 LR shouldn’t inspire confidence – but by the numbers, it is the most popular cartridge in the world. Part of the .22 LR’s success is the sheer variety of ammunition and firearms chambered for it, allowing the shooter to tailor both for tasks both conventional and unconventional. In this primer, we’ll look at the .22 LR as a self-defense, hunting, and shooting cartridge and help with a short list of ammunition for your consideration. |
ATF Rule Changes Could Ease Restrictions for Gun Owners and Dealers
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Government officials are always eager to bind us in red tape; it's rare that they cut the stuff. It's a special treat when an agency as obnoxious as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives rolls back any sort of restrictions, but that's what it's doing with regulatory revisions that will, overall, ease the burden of regulations on gun owners and firearms dealers. There's nothing groundbreaking in the proposed rules changes, but any relief is welcome relief. |
Trump DOJ looks to change USPS rule about shipping handguns
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Handguns could be mailed through the United States Postal Service for the first time in nearly 100 years if a proposed rule under the Trump administration takes effect. Democratic attorneys general in two dozen states sent a letter this week in opposition.
In 1927, Congress passed a law barring the USPS from mailing concealable firearms unless they were from licensed dealers in an effort to curb crime. In January, the Department of Justice revisited the 1927 law, calling it unconstitutional and arguing that it violated the Second Amendment, and urged the postal service to change its regulations. |
RI: Pro-Second Amendment Orgs Planning To Inflict Legal Pain On Rhode Island Over ‘Terrifying’ Anti-Gun Bill
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Pro-Second Amendment organizations said they would launch court challenges against a bill in Rhode Island that would give owners of modern semiautomatic firearms six months to dispose of them.
Democratic Rhode Island state Sen. Tiara Mack introduced S2710 on Feb. 27 with eight co-sponsors, legislation that tightens the state’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” by prohibiting possession of the firearms. Under the terms of the legislation, those who own prohibited firearms would have until Dec. 31 to either sell them to a licensed dealer or transfer them to an out-of-state resident who could legally own them, something pro-Second Amendment organizations say would violate Americans’ Second Amendment rights. |
MO: Could Missouri overhaul ‘stand your ground’ law after Chiefs rally shooting plea deals?
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When Republican lawmakers in 2016 sidestepped Missouri’s Democratic governor and enacted a sweeping firearms law, the move solidified the state as a gun rights haven. A decade later, that law, often called “stand your ground,” has gained new notoriety and deepened longstanding fractures in the Missouri Capitol over the state’s firearms protections, among the loosest in the nation. Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson recently cited the law as justification for her decision to drop murder charges against two individuals involved in the 2024 mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory rally that killed one person, Lisa Lopez-Galvan, and injured more than 20 others. |
Clarence Thomas now second-longest serving justice ever
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The first baby boomer on the Supreme Court hit a milestone Thursday, becoming the second-longest serving justice in history at a time when his influence has never seemed greater.
Once an outlier on the nation's highest court, Justice Clarence Thomas has become a towering figure in the conservative legal movement over the past decade as he helped secure landmark rulings on abortion, voting and Second Amendment rights.
The only justice with a longer tenure is liberal William O. Douglas. Thomas would overtake Douglas in 2028 if he remains on the court, and there is no sign he plans to retire anytime soon. |
CO: DOJ Sues City of Denver Over Assault Weapons Ban, Calls Local Ordinance a Civil Rights Violation Under Second Amendment
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The United States Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit against the City and County of Denver and the Denver Police Department, alleging that Denver’s local “assault weapons” ban violates the Second Amendment rights of city residents and constitutes a pattern or practice of civil rights violations under federal law.
The complaint was filed on May 5, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado as Case No. 1:26-cv-01929, United States of America v. City and County of Denver, Colorado, et al. The case is being prosecuted by the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division through its newly active Second Amendment Section, headed by Acting Chief Barry K. Arrington. |
New Trump Rule Could Allow Handguns To Be Shipped Through the US Mail
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USPS proposed the new rule last month that would allow anyone to mail firearms like pistols and revolvers within a state.
To mail guns across state lines, the owner must ship the firearm to themselves in the care of another person, and must travel to the state to open the package themselves.
In a statement, USPS said that it is reviewing public comments before drafting a final proposal.
A coalition of attorneys general are challenging the rule, arguing that allowing guns to be sent through the mail would bypass background check requirements and make it easier for people like felons and domestic abusers to gain access to deadly weapons. |
CO: DOJ Challenges Denver's 'Assault Weapon' Ban and Colorado's Magazine Limit
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The Department of Justice this week filed two Second Amendment lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, challenging that state's ban on "large capacity" magazines and Denver's ban on "assault weapons." Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general in charge of the department's Civil Rights Division, argues that both laws are unconstitutional for the same reason: They ban arms in common use for lawful purposes, which the Supreme Court has said are covered by the Second Amendment, and there is no "historical tradition" that would justify such a policy, as required by the Court's 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. |
FL: Publix changes open-carry firearms policy in its Florida grocery stores
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Publix has rolled back a policy that allowed the open-carry of firearms in its Florida supermarkets, according to posted signs at stores and a new entry on the chain’s website. “Publix kindly asks that only law enforcement openly carry firearms in our stores,” the company says in a new notice on its website. A company spokesperson did not respond to several messages from the Miami Herald to explain the reasons for the change.
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VT: Vermont Senate advances statewide ban on guns in bars
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The Vermont Senate gave preliminary approval on Thursday to a statewide ban on guns in bars and restaurants.
The bill is based on a Burlington charter change that has been approved by voters twice. However, the charter change was not taken up in the Statehouse.
Instead of a ban in one city, the bill proposes making it statewide.
It passed along party lines. If it makes it to the governor’s desk, it could likely face a veto.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of a similar law in Texas, saying states can ban firearms in sensitive places. |
TX: Second Amendment win: Texas dad shoots carjacker dead in traffic while protecting family
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A Texas father is alive, and more importantly, his family is safe, because he exercised a right that too many politicians spend their careers trying to weaken.
According to KDFW-TV, a man attempted to carjack a vehicle carrying a family of eight in the Dallas suburb of Garland on Sunday afternoon.
He picked the wrong target.
Police said the suspect had already crashed into two vehicles and then began trying to force his way into multiple cars in a parking lot near the city intersection of Highway 66 and Dairy Road. |
Paul Clement’s Dominant Term Boosts His Supreme Court Legacy
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Over a two-week sprint in March, Paul Clement argued in three courts on opposite coasts—including the US Supreme Court, where he matched his personal best with nine appearances at the lectern this term.
Absent Elizabeth Prelogar’s 10 appearances as solicitor general in 2023, no one has beaten that number in the past three decades, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis.
Clement’s long been prolific. He frequently tops the Supreme Court bar in appearances. He’s now notched 128 arguments before the court by his count, bringing Edwin Kneedler’s modern record of 160 into view. |
CO: DOJ Sues Denver Over Semi-Automatic Ban
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The city of Denver has infringed upon the rights of its citizens for decades by banning the ownership of common, constitutionally protected semi-automatic rifles. Now, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is taking the city to task over the infringement.
Passed back in 1989, the ordinance makes it illegal to carry, store, keep, manufacture, sell, or otherwise possess what it calls “assault weapons” in the city. On May 5, the DOJ filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado seeking to have the ban ruled unconstitutional and stricken from the books. |
USPS proposal would allow handguns to be sent through the mail for the first time since 1927
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Handguns could be mailed through the U.S. Postal Service for the first time in nearly 100 years if a proposed rule under the Trump administration takes effect. Democratic attorneys general in two dozen states sent a letter this week in opposition.
In 1927, Congress passed a law barring the USPS from mailing concealable firearms unless they were from licensed dealers in an effort to curb crime. In January, the Department of Justice revisited the 1927 law, calling it unconstitutional and arguing that it violated the Second Amendment, and urged the postal service to change its regulations. |
CO: New Colorado law bans the manufacture of 3D-printed guns
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Manufacturing 3D-printed firearms, sometimes called “ghost guns,” will be illegal in Colorado under a new law signed Monday, May 4, by Gov. Jared Polis.
House Bill 1144 makes 3D printing a gun or gun component a Class 1 misdemeanor for a first offense, and a Class 5 felony for multiple offenses, both of which are punishable by jail or prison time. The measure, which takes effect on July 1, exempts federally licensed firearm manufacturers and certified gunsmithing programs.
It builds on a 2023 law that bans the sale and possession of guns without serial numbers, as well as the manufacture of certain gun parts. Proponents say further action to crack down on 3D manufacturing is needed amid a proliferation in ghost guns used in crimes. |
PA: Top Guns notch wins at regional air rifle event
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Members of Jefferson County’s 4-H Air Rifle club, Top Guns, attended the annual Regional 4-H Air Rifle Event at the Potter County Gunzburger Building in Coudersport on March 28.
Nine members from the Top Guns competed against members from Cameron and Potter counties from three shooting positions in four different age divisions. Jefferson County members were coached by 4-H volunteers Philip Kuntz, Renee Stiver, Max Pifer, Sunni Reddinger, Jason Stiver and Heath Reddinger. |
CT: Connecticut Sneaks Late-Night ‘Glock’ Ban into Law
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Legislators jammed through an aggressive and likely unconstitutional gun ban in Connecticut last night, making the "Constitution State" a no-go destination for popular semi-auto pistols.
Although its actual legal language is ambiguous, the Connecticut Senate passed bill H5043 by a 22-11 margin in a largely party-line vote to ban Glock-type handguns in the state. The measure passed the state’s House in an earlier 86-64 vote, which means it now heads to Gov. Ned Lamont.
The governor has already called the bill a priority, making it almost certain to stumble into law. |
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