This week, a ton of briefs supporting restoring the domestic violence restraining order gun ban were filed at the Supreme Court. But the one from the ACLU was perhaps the most interesting. It was at least the most surprising.
The liberal group does want the Court to uphold the law. But they disagree with the government’s view of how expansive its power is to restrict guns. And they even implied several federal firearms prohibitions may be unconstitutional. I break it all down in an analysis piece for Reload Members.
Republicans also gathered for their first presidential primary debate on Wednesday. Well, most of them at least. But front-runner Donald Trump’s absence wasn’t the only noticeable one. The lack of discussion about the Second Amendment was apparent too.
In the legal realm, we saw a first-of-its-kind decision out of Massachusetts that calls into question the constitutionality of cross-border gun-carry bans. Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman also takes a close look at a positive sign for gun-rights advocates in a recent Pew poll.
Plus, Jake and I answer Reload Members’ questions about gun policy, politics, and culture on the podcast this week.
ACLU Tells Supreme Court to Uphold Restraining Order Gun Ban, But Only Narrowly
By Stephen Gutowski
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is backing a federal law barring those subject to domestic violence restraining orders from owning guns.
On Monday, the civil-rights group filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court supporting the reversal of a Fifth Circuit ruling striking down the prohibition. It argued the federal ban fits within the nation’s history and tradition of firearms regulations and, therefore, passes the test The Court handed down in 2022’s New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. But it also argued the government is asking for too much authority in its argument for upholding the law.
“The United States seeks reversal by asserting sweeping government power to restrict the Second Amendment rights of anyone who is not a law-abiding, responsible, citizen,” the ACLU’s brief in United States v. Rahimi said. “But the Court can and should reverse on a much narrower ground, without granting the government the broad authority it claims: namely, that there is ample historical support for restricting gun rights of persons individually determined to pose a specific threat to others.”
Analysis: ACLU Warns of Government Overreach in Second Amendment Case [Member Exclusive]
By Stephen Gutowski
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) believes the restraining order gun ban is constitutional, but, more interestingly, the liberal group also thinks some gun laws aren’t.
On Monday, the ACLU filed a brief in United States v. Rahimi that asks the Supreme Court to reverse a Fifth Circuit ruling that struck down the prohibition on those subject to domestic violence restraining orders possessing guns. But they also said the power claimed by the Government in its brief was dangerously broad. And it went on to question the constitutionality of numerous gun laws both on their face and as they’re applied in practice.
If you’re a Reload Member, click here to read the rest. If not, join today for exclusive access to this and hundreds of other analysis pieces!
Republicans Mum on Guns at First Primary Debate
By Stephen Gutowski
Gun policy was noticeably absent from the opening contest between Republican presidential candidates.
On Wednesday night, the issue was not brought up independently by any candidates. And almost nobody addressed gun policy directly in any of their answers. Fox News host Bret Baier tried to broach the subject by asking the candidates what they would do about guns and gun violence.
“This weekend here in Milwaukee, reports say there were 30 shootings, and a number of them including kids. Add that to the big increase in school shootings around the country,” Baier said while setting up a question to former New Jersey Governor Chirs Christie. “Democrats blame this crisis on easy access to guns. They also blame Republicans for blocking gun control legislation.”
Click here to continue reading.
Massachusetts Judge Rules Law Against Carrying Guns Across State Lines Unconstitutional
By Jake Fogleman
A person’s right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense does not end at state lines, a Massachusetts trial judge has ruled.
Earlier this month, Lowell District Court Justice John F. Coffey dismissed a criminal case against a New Hampshire man charged with carrying a firearm without a license in Massachusetts. He found the state’s requirement that non-residents obtain a temporary license to carry in Massachusetts violates the Second Amendment.
“An individual only loses a constitutional right if he commits an offense or is or has been engaged in certain behavior that is covered by 18 USC section 922,” Judge Coffey wrote on August 3rd in Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Dean F. Donnell. “He doesn’t lose that right simply by traveling into an adjoining state whose statute mandates that residents of that state obtain a license prior to exercising their constitutional right. To hold otherwise would inexplicably treat Second Amendment rights differently than other individually held rights. Therefore, the Court finds that GL. 269, sec. (10a) is unconstitutional as applied to this particularly situated defendant and allows the motion to dismiss on that ground.”
Click here to read the full story.
Podcast: We Answer All Your Gun Questions
By Stephen Gutowski
It has been a little while since we’ve done a Q&A podcast. So, we decided to take some questions from Reload Members for this week’s episode.
And we got a lot of great questions. I’m not sure if buying a Reload Membership makes somebody smarter or if only smart people buy Reload Memberships, but, either way, we always seem to get really great questions during these Q&As. This time was no different.
You can listen to the episode on your favorite podcasting app or by clicking here. Video of the show is available on our YouTube channel.
Analysis: A Positive Poll for Gun-Rights Supporters [Member Exclusive]
By Jake Fogleman
Despite some worrying trends in public polling data of late, at least one new finding should serve as a bright spot for gun rights supporters: guns remain an overwhelmingly popular tool for most of the country.
The Pew Research Center released its latest poll on gun ownership on Wednesday. Amidst examining the latest American attitudes on access to firearms, it uncovered a surprisingly receptive audience in non-gun owners. Nearly half of the non-gun-owning respondents surveyed by Pew said they could see themselves purchasing a firearm.
Additionally, the survey documented a shift in the number of Americans who report owning a firearm. While Pew has consistently found lower levels of gun ownership than other reputable pollsters like Gallup and the National Opinion Research Center, it did see a slight uptick this year in the number of respondents indicating that they own a gun or live in a household with someone who does. Pew’s newest poll found 32 percent of U.S. adults say they own a firearm, up two percentage points from a survey it conducted in 2021. Another 10 percent reported living with someone who owns a gun, for a total of 42 percent of American adults living in a gun-owning household.
Taken together, that means almost two-thirds of U.S. adults said they either own a gun currently or could see themselves buying one eventually.
If you’re a Reload Member, click here to read the rest. If not, join today for exclusive access to this and hundreds of other analysis pieces!
Outside The Reload
D.C.’s ‘red flag’ gun law rarely used | The Washington Post | By Meagan Flynn
Indianapolis Mayor’s Race Features Gun Ban-Supporting Republican Candidate | Politico | By Adam Wren
That’s it for this week in guns.
I’ll see you all next week.
Thanks,
Stephen Gutowski
Founder
The Reload
