2022’s chickens have come home to roost. This week, we saw the culmination of the legislative sessions in states across the country where the election’s outcome had obvious impacts on gun policy outcomes.

Maryland joined Michigan and Minnesota in passing new gun restrictions after Democrats overperformed expectations and took complete control of state government. That’s what can happen when your opponents run somebody who spoke at a Q-Anon conspiracy conference in a blue state and even the popular outgoing Republican Governor won’t endorse him. But Nevada shows that, while Republicans were on the losing side of most of the highly-anticipated 2022 matchups, they didn’t lose them all.

As Contributing Writer Jake Foglemen documents below, that state’s new GOP Governor vetoed several gun-control bills their Democratic opponent almost certainly would have signed.

The legislatures aren’t the only places where we saw significant action, though. The Supreme Court disappointed a lot of gun-rights advocates and provided some reason for gun-control activists to celebrate. But I explain why the Court’s denial of an emergency injunction request against a so-called assault weapons ban doesn’t mean the fight is over. Not even close.

Plus, the Second Amendment Foundation’s Alan Gottlieb responds to questions over his group’s finances.

Also, I give you guys an update on my quest to update my concealed carry rig. It’s hard to break old habits, but I’m trying out new techniques and gear to go along with my new gun.

Analysis: 2023 State Legislative Sessions Show Elections Have Consequences for Gun Policy [Member Exclusive]
By Jake Fogleman

“Elections have consequences” is an old adage in politics, made especially famous by then-President Obama in the aftermath of the 2008 election. But it’s just as relevant now in the current context of state legislative sessions across the country, especially when it comes to gun policy.

On Tuesday, the Minnesota state legislature approved a “red flag” law to temporarily confiscate guns from people deemed a threat to themselves or others and expanded background check requirements for most private gun sales. It now finds itself on its way to the desk of Governor Tim Walz (D.), who has said he will sign it into law.

“As a veteran, gun-owner, hunter, and dad, I know that basic gun safety isn’t a threat to the Second Amendment,” Walz tweeted on Wednesday. “It’s about our first responsibility to our kids: Keeping them safe. When the bill reaches my desk, I’m going to sign a red flag law and background checks into law.”

The bill’s passage marks a significant win for gun-control advocates on its own merits, but it also marks the latest instance of new movement on gun bills in states where Democrats gained political power in the 2022 midterm elections. Last November, the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party regained trifecta control of the state government for the first time since 2014 after flipping the state Senate by a one-seat margin. That gave the party the votes to finally pass new gun restrictions after years of unsuccessful attempts due to Republican opposition.

A similar dynamic played out in nearby Michigan, where the state’s Democratic party retained control of the Governor’s seat in 2022 against unpopular Trump-backed Republican challenger Tudor Dixon while flipping control of the House and Senate—the latter of which had been in Republican hands since 1983. The state’s Democratic lawmakers took full advantage of this newly-minted trifecta to pass mandatory safe storage requirements, universal background checks, and its own version of a “red flag” law.

And just this week, Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D.) signed into law new safe firearm storage requirements and his state’s version of a Bruen-response bill creating a wide variety of new “gun-free zones” and increasing the fees to apply for a carry permit. The bills’ signing would have been far more difficult had Democrats not flipped control of the Governor’s mansion in 2022. Moore defeated Trump-backed candidate Dan Cox in a landslide. Cox garnered just 32 percent of the vote in a state whose popular Republican governor, Larry Hogan, had just retired after finishing his second term.

Of course, the 2022 midterms were not a total defeat for Republicans or gun-rights advocates. The “elections have consequences” axiom applies in both directions. In the few places Republicans performed well, gun-rights advocates have since seen corresponding legislative victories.

For instance, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo (R.) vetoed three gun control bills this week passed by the near-supermajority Democratic state legislature. Together the bills would have banned anyone under the age of 21 from possessing any semi-automatic long gun, banned gun carry within 100 feet of polling places, and added gross misdemeanors to the list of offenses that would prohibit someone from owning guns under state law.

“I will not support legislation that infringes on the constitutional rights of Nevadans,” Lombardo said in a statement accompanying his vetoes. “Much of the legislation I vetoed today is in direct conflict with legal precedent and established constitutional protections. Therefore, I cannot support them.”

Lombardo was only in a position to stop those bills because he bucked the underperformance that plagued the rest of his party last November en route to being the only GOP gubernatorial candidate to unseat an incumbent Governor.

Likewise, while the proverbial “red wave” failed to materialize in most of the country, it certainly arrived in North Carolina, where Republicans secured a veto-proof majority in the state Senate and a near supermajority in the state House. The state party used that increased control to its advantage this session, successfully overriding Governor Roy Cooper’s (D.) veto of a bill to repeal the state’s pistol purchase permit law.

And finally, there is the example of Florida, where the “red wave” was perhaps at its apex. But for the sizable electoral victory achieved by Governor Ron DeSantis (R.) and other Republicans down the ballot, it is highly unlikely that permitless carry would have been enacted this year.

Outside of the deepest of blue states, where gun control is a perennial fixture of the legislative session, the most significant new gun restrictions have been in states where Republicans underperformed expectations in 2022. Likewise, many of the gun-rights movement’s greatest success stories outside of the safest red states have come thanks to last November’s races that bucked the trend of Republicans faceplanting at the ballot box.

Gun politics are perhaps more polarized than ever, thanks to the Democratic party moving left on the issue while gun-rights advocates have become increasingly intertwined with Republican politics. So long as that remains the case, expect to see consequential electoral results continue to set the tone for the biggest shifts in the gun-policy landscape.

Come on the Podcast

One of the many perks of a Reload membership is the opportunity to appear on the podcast. We’ve had a lot of people on the show from all kinds of backgrounds. It’s one of my favorite segments since it gives us all a better insight into the community that makes this publication possible. If you want to come on the show, just reply to this email and let me know!

Podcast: Second Amendment Foundation’s Alan Gottlieb Responds to Financial Questions [Member Early Access]
By Stephen Gutowski

This week, Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) joined the show to respond to questions about the group’s finances.

As I promised on the previous podcast, I asked Gottlieb about the ins and out of how the two non-profits he’s a director of interact with the private entities he operates and what safeguards are in place to ensure the groups aren’t being overcharged. He said SAF and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) have boards that approve the contracts with the private companies he owns, and he has no say over those decisions. He noted the relationships have been disclosed on the group’s financial filings for decades, as required by law.

He also attacked Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D.) for a year-long investigation into the group that has yet to produce any charges or legal action. He accused Ferguson of targeting the gun-rights groups because they have started several lawsuits against the state’s gun laws in recent years. He compared the investigation to harassment and said they filed a civil rights suit against the state over the cost of compiling the documents they requested and the lost man-hours involved in complying with the AG’s various demands.

He said The Wall Street Journal, which broke the news of the investigation and raised questions about the gun groups’ finances, was negligent in repeating some of the accusations the AG has reportedly pursued without proper context. Gottlieb said one of the groups the paper implied he was profiting off of is actually a co-op that operates at cost. He said the other company he owns that does business with SAF and CCRKBA offers services at below-market rates.

Gottlieb answered several other questions about how the groups have operated under his leadership over the years. And he gave an update on SAF’s latest lawsuits against New Jersey and Maryland’s latest gun-carry restrictions.

Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss the Supreme Court’s decision not to issue an emergency injunction against an Illinois city’s AR-15 ban.

You can listen to the show on your favorite podcasting app or by clicking here. Video of the episode is also available on our YouTube channel. As always, Reload Members get access to the show on Sunday. Everyone else gets access on Monday.

Analysis: Despite Supreme Court Inaction, Illinois ‘Assault Weapons” Ban Fight Far From Over [Member Exclusive]
By Stephen Gutowski

The Supreme Court’s decision not to intervene in the case against an Illinois city’s AR-15 ban has caused consternation and celebration on either side of the debate. But the cheers and jeers are premature.

On Wednesday, the Cout unceremoniously denied an emergency request to block Naperville, Illinois’s so-called assault weapons ban. It didn’t offer any explanation for the decision, and none of the justices attached any of their thoughts either. That is undoubtedly a loss for the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR), who brought the case, and gun-rights advocates hoping for a quick resolution.

But it isn’t a major one. It’s akin to missing a buzzer-beater from beyond half-court… at the end of the first quarter. The game is far from over.

The fact that this was an emergency request gives some insight into why it doesn’t represent the end of the road. Naperville passed its ban on AR-15s and similar semi-automatic firearms in August 2022. NAGR filed suit soon afterward. But by February, a federal district judge denied a preliminary injunction against the Naperville ordinance. The Seventh Circuit rejected NAGR’s request to block enforcement of the law during the appeal process.

When NAGR took that same request up to the Supreme Court, its chances of succeeding were slim. The Court rarely shortcircuits a case that hasn’t been heard on the merits and grants emergency injunctions. In fact, it rarely even considers doing so.

That’s what made Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who oversees the Seventh Circuit, requesting a brief from Naperville defending its ban intriguing. It suggested the Court was at least considering intervening.

So, it’s understandable why the denial disappointed many in the gun-rights world, even if it was the most likely outcome.

But it was the most likely outcome. In fact, the Court already delivered that result in two other Second Amendment cases this year alone. It seems clear the justices want to see how gun cases develop in the lower courts before they jump back in with both feet.

It’s understandable that gun-rights advocates are disappointed by this slower pace, but it has been less than a year since the landmark ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. The standard set in that case is in its infancy, and it makes sense the Court, in addition to respecting the process of the lower courts, would want to see how different judges apply it to varying questions before they weigh in again.

Two justices have already said as much. In Antonyuk v. Nigrelli, the Court denied an emergency request to block New York’s Bruen-response law and its voluminous new restrictions on gun carry. Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the majority opinion in Bruen, joined Justice Alito in explaining why they voted not to intervene.

“I understand the Court’s denial today to reflect respect for the Second Circuit’s procedures in managing its own docket, rather than expressing any view on the merits of the case,” Alito wrote.

However, they also noted the New York law presents “novel and serious questions under both the First and the Second Amendments.” They also praised the district court’s ruling against much of the law as “a thorough opinion.” Importantly, Alito also noted the Second Circuit Court of Appeals had issued “unreasoned summary stay orders” against the injunctions in Anyonyuk and several other cases involving the New York law. He told the plaintiffs they should come back to the Court if the proceedings didn’t speed up.

“Applicants should not be deterred by today’s order from again seeking relief if the Second Circuit does not, within a reasonable time, provide an explanation for its stay order or expedite consideration of the appeal,” Alito wrote.

The Second Circuit has put the New York gun cases on an expedited schedule. Notably, the Seventh Circuit may have gotten the message on this point as well. It has done the same with a nearly identical case challenging the statewide ban that has made it further along on the merits. That may have factored into the Court’s decision not to issue an emergency injunction in the Naperville case.

Since we don’t have any insight into the specifics of the Court’s decision-making, it’s impossible to know for sure. We don’t know why none of the justices commented on this case after Alito and Thomas praised the district court’s decision blocking New York’s carry restrictions. It could be noteworthy that nobody did the same for the district court decision upholding Illinois’s AR ban, but that’s just speculation.

At the very least, though, we know some on the Court are paying close attention to the case. And it’s safe to say, with half a dozen active cases across the country, the legal battle over “assault weapon” bans is far from over.

Working Through an Enigma

I finally upgraded my carry gun a few weeks back, as you likely know if you listen to the podcast. The 17-round capacity of the Sig Sauer P365 Macro got me to give up my ol’ Springfield XDs. My first instinct was to go right back to the same Alien Gear 3.5 Cloak Tuck I’ve been carrying strongside with for about a decade. It’s not perfect by any means, but it passes the minimum requirements for a safe holster thanks to a metal backplate that provides reliable retention not found in the leather hybrid holsters I started with years ago.

But, as with red dot sights, the trends in concealed carry techniques have changed a lot since I started carrying. So, it’s time for me to reevaluate my setup. Strongside doesn’t conceal as well as other carry positions and the X-Marco is a bit bigger than the XDs (though not as much bigger as you’d expect since it holds more than twice the ammo).

The fact that the Kydex mold on my 3.5 didn’t actually fit the red dot on my gun helped nudge me toward trying something new.

I’m not a reviewer. I haven’t tried out a thousand different holsters. Frankly, the holster market looks pretty crowded and confusing to me. You need to do a good amount of research to understand what’s good and what’s not. And it seems easy to blow hundreds of dollars on holsters that won’t actually work well.

I’m lucky in that the holster system I’ve heard the most positive things about over the past couple of years is also one owned by friends of mine. The Phlster Enigma is a completely unique system for carrying appendix. It seems like it’ll be the easiest way to give appendix a shot. They sent me one to take a look at. So, that’s what I’m planning to do.

This won’t be a formal review. There are better resources out there (like this one from Lucky Gunner or this one from Active Self Protection). I’m just trying to give you guys some insight into my personal journey to rework how I carry a gun.

I just got the Enigma a few minutes before I wrote this newsletter. So, I don’t have much to say yet. But it does actually fit my X-Macro, its Romeo Zero Elite complete with shield, and its suppressor-height sights. So, it already has one up over the Alien Gear and the cheap CYA holster I got off Amazon. Here’s hoping it can help change the way I carry.

That’s it for now.

I’ll talk to you all again soon.

Thanks,
Stephen Gutowski
Founder
The Reload