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IN: ‘I just want peace’: Man claims self-defense in downtown South Bend shooting
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Wayne Hubbard said what was meant to be a quiet night of fishing on the St. Joseph River turned into him staring down the barrel of a gun.
“I told him at one point my kids are in the car, man. I am begging you, please don’t do it,” Hubbard said.
Hubbard said a man confronted him, falsely accusing him of assaulting the man’s brother earlier this month — an unhoused individual Hubbard said he has gotten to know.
Hubbard denied the alleged assault and said the man pulled a gun, fired at him, but missed. Hubbard said he fired back. |
BERSA USA to Exhibit at G.O.A.L.S. 2026
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BERSA USA, a leading innovator in the firearms and shooting sports industry, announced today it will exhibit at the 2026 Gun Owners Advocacy & Leadership Summit, known as G.O.A.L.S. 2026, taking place Aug. 1–2 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa. BERSA USA will be located at Booth 2938.
G.O.A.L.S. 2026 is the flagship convention of Gun Owners of America, marking the organization's 50th anniversary defending Second Amendment rights. The event draws thousands of GOA members, firearms enthusiasts, industry exhibitors and Second Amendment advocates from across the country for a weekend of speakers, panels, exhibits and community programming. |
VA: Virginian forgers can’t bear arms
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The Virginia Court of Appeals found that a state statute barring firearm possession by persons convicted of forgery does not violate the Second Amendment. “Taking away the offender’s firearm rights is consistent with our nation’s tradition of disarming those persons who so severely violate established legal norms as to be deemed untrustworthy to possess firearms.” |
The Lifetime Likelihood Of Needing A Gun For Self-Defense
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A few months ago, John Correia of Active Self Protection was confronted by a burglar in his own home. The man fled, no shot was fired, and Correia walked away thinking about a question many armed citizens eventually ask. Realistically, what are the odds I will ever need my gun? In a video on his channel, he ran the numbers from two major firearms surveys and arrived at a startlingly large lifetime probability. This article borrows his framework and pushes further into the underlying data. |
Supreme Court Cabins Federal Firearms Ban For Cannabis Users
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The Court held that prosecuting Hemani violated the Second Amendment. Under Bruen and Rahimi, once the Second Amendment’s text covers a person’s conduct, the government must show that the restriction is “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” The government tried to carry that burden by analogizing Section 922(g)(3) to founding-era “habitual drunkard” laws. The Court rejected that analogy because those historical statutes targeted different categories (the incapacitated, not the merely regular user) for different reasons (public morals and the user’s own welfare, not risks of violence) and through different means (only after some form of process). |
NJ: New Jersey ban on semiautomatic weapons ruled unconstitutional
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New Jersey’s ban on so-called assault firearms and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds has been deemed unconstitutional.
This decision came July 17 from the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, making it the first time a federal appeals court declared New Jersey in violation the Second Amendment.
New Jersey is known for having some of the country’s strictest gun control laws. The state's ban on firearms characterized as assault weapons has been in place since 1990. |
Is the Supreme Court’s ‘Common Use’ Test Really Originalist?
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The Supreme Court’s “common use” test has become one of the strongest weapons available to Americans challenging bans on AR-15s, standard-capacity magazines, and other widely owned firearms. It may also rest on a surprisingly weak originalist foundation.
That is the theory recently advanced by Second Amendment plaintiff Charles Nichols, who argues that the Constitution does not protect an arm because enough Americans already own it. The Second Amendment protects arms because the text says the people’s right to keep and bear them “shall not be infringed.” |
CO: Colorado Suffers Setback In Fight To Defend Gun Tax
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A Colorado judge on Monday refused to dismiss El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen as a defendant in a suit challenging a 6.5% tax the state placed on firearms.
Colorado voters approved the tax via Proposition KK, which imposed the duty on firearms, firearm parts and ammunition in the November 2024 election. District Court Judge Andrew McCallin explained two reasons why he denied Allen’s motion to dismiss in a brief one-page order. |
IL: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signs order toughening city standards on buying guns
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday signed an executive order to toughen standards for where city departments and sister agencies buy guns, firearm accessories, and ammunition.
The Mayor's office said the executive order was motivated by nationwide concerns about law enforcement agencies purchasing firearms from unvetted dealers.
"This executive order reflects a simple belief that every taxpayer dollar should be advanced for public safety, and it should support responsible business practices," said Mayor Johnson.
The mayor signed the order in front of Brady: United Against Gun Violence, Live Free Illinois, and other gun violence prevention advocates. |
IN: Guns to Gardens initiative comes to Indianapolis church
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Guns to Gardens brings new meaning to the word growth through a program that transforms firearms into garden tools.
Allisonville Christian Church is hosting an event that brings the nationwide community-led initiative to Indianapolis. The program is rooted in faith and enables communities to safely dispose of firearms.
The event allows gun owners to surrender their weapons. Once a professional checks that the weapon is unloaded, it will be dismantled.The weapon is then taken apart and a blacksmith the gunmetal into gardening tools. If you decline the service, the scraps will be destroyed or used to make art. |
IA: Fort Dodge man found to be acting in self-defense after fatally shooting another man
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Fort Dodge police have determined a man who shot and killed another man last Friday was acting in self-defense, according to a press release.
Police were dispatched shortly before 2 p.m. after learning of a man who had been shot in the 1300 block of 3rd Avenue North in Fort Dodge.
When they arrived at the scene, police found a man with a gunshot wound. The man, identified as 45-year-old Thomas Henry Ahrens of Fort Dodge, was taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. |
Second Amendment Freedom Guarantees All Our Freedoms
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Starting July 1, Virginia law will forbid the future sale, manufacture and transfer of a huge swath of America’s most commonly owned rifles, pistols and shotguns, along with magazines holding more than 15 rounds. Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the package in May, and lawmakers in Richmond are already congratulating themselves for “commonsense” reform.
Don’t believe it. This is a Beltway-style assault on a constitutional right, headed for the same legal reckoning that similar bans have met elsewhere. The Second Amendment is, and always has been, a freedom amendment. |
Smith & Wesson Model 1854 "Ready-to-Hunt" Rifle Packages
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Just in time for fall hunting season, Smith & Wesson has announced the launch of four Model 1854 lever-action rifle packages, including two models chambered in .30-30 Winchester and two models chambered in .45-70 Government. Each rifle comes factory-equipped with a Vortex Crossfire HD 2-7×32 riflescope, for a complete, ready-to-hunt rifle and optic setup.
The Model 1854 rifle series combines traditional American lever-action styling with modern performance features. Available in both stainless-steel synthetic and walnut-stock configurations, the new Model 1854 rifle packages offer options for hunters and shooting enthusiasts seeking either a rugged, accessory-ready platform or a classic lever-action appearance. |
AL: Mobile business owner says he shot and killed man in self defense
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A Mobile business owner says he shot and killed a man who came to his business, calling it self-defense.
Mobile police responded to a deadly shooting at Chips Auto Glass on Halls Mill Road on July 28. Investigators say 25-year-old Evan Bagley came to the business, got into an argument with another man, and pointed a gun at him.
The owner of the business said he was the one who pulled the trigger. |
How one felon’s legal fight could change the face of federal gun laws forever
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The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request on July 20 to hear an appeal of a panel’s ruling that upheld the conviction of Curtis Squire, who had been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. A ruling favoring Squire, whose attorneys raised arguments over the Commerce Clause, could drastically pare back the reach of federal gun laws involving possession of firearms.
The decision to take the case “en banc” came a month after Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas authored a concurring opinion in Hemani v. United States raising the possibility that federal firearms possession laws were unconstitutional on the grounds that they exceeded the authority granted to Congress via the Commerce Clause. |
We asked pro-Second Amendment groups if they backed Todd Blanche
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Most pro-Second Amendment organizations were optimistic about how acting Attorney General Todd Blanche would handle gun issues if confirmed to the post.
President Donald Trump nominated Blanche to serve as attorney general in June, roughly two months after the departure of Pam Bondi from the job. The nomination appeared to hit a roadblock when Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn cancelled a meeting with Blanche, claiming his concerns about a DOJ “weaponization” fund were not addressed satisfactorily, potentially postponing a vote scheduled for Thursday.
Concern arose on social media after Gun Owners of America (GOA) posted some of Blanche’s responses to senators’ questions about Second Amendment issues on X Monday. |
Trump DOJ Defends NFA Gun Registry Despite Supreme Court’s Wolford Ruling
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After the Supreme Court decided Wolford v. Lopez, the district court ordered the parties to explain what effect that ruling has on the NFA challenge.
DOJ’s answer could hardly have been more dismissive:
“In short, Wolford does not meaningfully affect how this Court should resolve plaintiffs’ Second Amendment challenge.”
That is an extraordinary position for a supposedly pro-Second Amendment administration to take.
The same Justice Department that supported the challengers in Wolford is now telling a lower court that the Supreme Court’s clarification of the Second Amendment framework provides “no meaningful guidance” when that guidance threatens a federal gun-control program. |
CA: Trump’s DOJ Just Upped The Ante Against Gavin Newsom’s Glock Ban
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The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division on Tuesday asked a federal court to grant an injunction blocking California’s ban on Glock pistols.
After Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta refused to discuss a possible settlement with Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, the DOJ filed suit in federal court to invalidate the measure and California’s “Unsafe Handgun Act,” seeking a temporary restraining order against the Glock ban. The DOJ asked the court to prevent the state from enforcing AB1127, the measure that barred the sale and transfer of Glocks. |
CO: Colorado’s Semi-Auto Ban Says August 1–But Gun Buyers Were Cut Off July 28
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Colorado’s sweeping restrictions on purchasing common semi-automatic firearms formally take effect on August 1, 2026. For law-abiding Coloradans, however, the real deadline arrived three days earlier.
Because Colorado already forces firearm purchasers to endure a mandatory three-day waiting period before taking possession, Tuesday, July 28, was the final practical day to begin an ordinary purchase of a firearm covered by Senate Bill 25-003. |
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