Pam Bondi, Donald Trump’s Attorney General pick, cruised through her confirmation hearing this week.
“I am an advocate for the Second Amendment, but…” summed up her brief remarks on gun policy and affirmed some of the pre-hearing gripes gun-rights groups had with her. It also looks like it won’t even be a speed bump on her way to obtaining the top law enforcement gig in the country. While Bondi’s upcoming tenure may not be as bad as for gun-rights advocates as whoever Kamala Harris might have picked, I explain for members why it still serves as another clear indicator of where on the totem poll the gun-rights movement fits in today’s GOP coalition.
The Supreme Court delivered mostly bad news to gun-rights advocates this week, too. It rejected several Second Amendment challenges. Although, it also left open the possibility of taking up some of the most consequential.
Meanwhile, another federal appeals court has decided the Supreme Court’s Rahimi decision didn’t really change anything despite the Court asking it to reconsider its previous ruling in light of it. The Third Circuit once again blocked Pennsylvania’s effective ban on gun carry by 18-to-20-year-olds during declared emergencies.
We also have a guest post about how a landmark decision on firearms forensics was overturned and the potential consequences of that action by Radley Balko of The Watch (his independent publication that you should check out if you haven’t already). And Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman lays out the details of the new Colorado AR ban proposal and why it’s more likely to pass this time around.
Plus, NRA board member Rocky Marshall joins the podcast to explain why he thinks the group is finally on the precipice of a new era. I also talked with Cam Edwards on his podcast about changes in the new national reciprocity alongside a slew of other interesting stories down in the link section.
Trump AG Pick: ‘I Am an Advocate for the Second Amendment, but I Will Enforce the Laws of the Land’
By Stephen Gutowski
President-elect Donald Trump’s Attorney General nominee defended her record on gun policy during her confirmation hearing.
On Wednesday, Pam Bondi told the Senate she stood by her record on guns. When Senator Alex Padilla (D., Calif.) questioned her, Bondi emphasized that she has “always been pro-Second Amendment.” However, she also said she’d follow applicable laws.
“I am an advocate for the Second Amendment, but I will enforce the laws of the land,” Bondi said.
Analysis: Why Trump AG’s Confirmation Hearing is Bad News for Gun-Rights Activists [Member Exclusive]
By Stephen Gutowski
Anytime a politician begins a sentence with “I am an advocate for the Second Amendment, but…” gun-rights advocates tend to turn a skeptical eye in their direction. That’s what Pam Bondi did during her confirmation hearing, but the context surrounding those comments may be a worse sign for the gun-rights movement as the president it backed is set to take office.
On Wednesday, Donald Trump’s Attorney General pick described herself as a Second Amendment advocate who would “enforce the laws of the land.” When asked about her support for new gun restrictions during her time as Florida’s AG, including backing age restrictions and helping craft a “red flag” law, she pointed to her experience responding to mass shootings as formative for her gun views. While she declined to endorse any particular gun-control proposal, her explanation of her beliefs sounded a lot more like what you’d expect from a modern Democrat than the next Republican AG.
More troubling for gun-rights activists than Bondi’s comments, though, may be who they were in response to. Instead of a grilling by skeptical Republicans looking for gun-rights assurances in exchange for their votes, the questions on Bondi’s gun record were posed by a California Democrat hoping she’d commit to publicly backing the policies she supported but on a national level.
Not a single Republican Senator asked Bondi about her background on guns or how she might handle the issue as AG.
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SCOTUS Rejects Multiple Second Amendment Cases, Relists Gun Ban Challenges
By Jake Fogleman
On a day when gun-rights advocates hoped that the Supreme Court would announce its next big Second Amendment case, it only informed them which ones it was turning away.
On Monday, the High Court denied petitions for certiorari in Maryland Shall Issue v. Moore and Gray v. Jennings. The cases challenged Maryland’s handgun-purchase licensing requirements and the preliminary injunction standard set in the case against Delaware’s sales ban on “assault weapons” and “large-capacity” ammunition magazines.
None of the justices wrote separately to explain or dissent from the denials.
Click here to continue reading.
Appeals Court Blocks Pennsylvania Emergency Gun-Carry Ban After Supreme Court Remand
By Stephen Gutowski
Another Second Amendment case remanded by the Supreme Court has come back with the same conclusion.
On Monday, a Third Circuit panel reaffirmed its decision to block a Pennsylvania ban on open carry by 18-to-20-year-olds during declared emergencies. By a 2-1 vote, the panel found the ban violated the Second Amendment. The majority said, upon review, it properly followed the Supreme Court’s precedents in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen and US v. Rahimi.
“We conclude that our prior analysis reflects the approach taken in Bruen and clarified in Rahimi,” Judge Kent A. Jordan wrote in Lara v. Comm’r Pa. State Police. “We did indeed consider ‘whether the challenged regulation is consistent with the principles that underpin our regulatory tradition[,]’ not whether a ‘historical twin’ of the regulation exists. Having determined that Rahimi sustains our prior analysis, we will again reverse and remand the District Court’s judgment.”
Analysis: Chicago Judge Erases Historic Ruling Against Firearms Forensics
By Radley Balko
In the case of Illinois v. Winfield, attorney Richard Gutierrez of the Cook County, Illinois Public Defender Office asked a Chicago judge to hold a hearing on the scientific validity of forensic firearms analysis. This is the field that claims to be able to match a bullet or shell casing to the gun that fired it. Circuit court judge William Hooks agreed to hold the hearing, and after considering evidence from the state and defense, he issued a landmark opinion in February 2023 which barred prosecutors from putting their analyst on the witness stand.
It was the first such ruling on forensic firearms analysis by any criminal court in the country. A handful of state and federal courts had previously put restrictions on the language these analysts sometimes use on the stand, citing the lack of scientific research to support their conclusions. But Hooks’s opinion was the first to bar an analyst’s testimony entirely. It was a big deal, because forensic firearms analysis is one of the most common types of expertise in the criminal legal system. Juries around the country rely on it daily to send thousands of people to prison each year.
But as of last month, Hooks’s ruling is no longer valid in Illinois. After a bizarre series of events, which began with an allegation of racism against Hooks and resulted in his retirement, the judge who replaced him then vacated the opinion, effectively erasing it from Illinois case law. Just like that, a small bombshell and long overdue win for science-based forensics was taken off the books.
Podcast: NRA’s Rocky Marshall on the Opportunity for a Fresh Start
By Stephen Gutowski
The National Rifle Association appears to be at the end of a six-year ordeal. Last month, the final order in its New York civil corruption case was handed down, and the outside law firm responsible for handling it has left.
To talk about the latest developments, we have NRA board member Rocky Marshall on the show this week. He joined us from the group’s latest board meeting in Texas and said the group is focused on the future.
You can listen to the show on your favorite podcasting app or by clicking here. Video of the episode is available on our YouTube channel.
Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I cover what the latest NICS data show about how much gun sales dropped in 2024. We also discuss another federal appeals court delivering an unchanged verdict on a case remanded by the Supreme Court, this time dealing with the gun rights of a non-violent marijuana user. We also cover House Republicans re-introducing national concealed carry reciprocity in Congress, a new semi-automatic firearm ban proposal in Colorado, and how the major gun-control groups say they’re feeling as the new administration gets set to take office.
Analysis: Unpacking Colorado’s New Semi-Auto Ban Bill, Odds of Passage [Member Exclusive]
By Jake Fogleman
Unchastened by two recent failed attempts, Colorado lawmakers are back with another effort to prohibit AR-15s and other semi-automatic firearms. There’s reason to think the third time could be the charm.
The Colorado General Assembly officially gaveled back in Wednesday for the 2025 legislative session. By the end of the day, lawmakers had already introduced Senate Bill 25-003. The “Semiautomatic Firearms & Rapid-Fire Devices” bill would criminalize the manufacture, distribution, transfer, and purchase of any “specified semiautomatic firearm,” defined as any semiautomatic rifle, shotgun, or gas-operated handgun with a detachable magazine.
Essentially, the bill is a reframing of an already novel twist on “assault weapon” ban legislation first floated in the US Senate in 2023. The Gas-Operated Semiautomatic Firearm Exclusion (GOSAFE) Act, introduced by Senators Martin Heinrich (D., N.M.) and Angus King (I., Maine), marked the first legislative effort to ban semi-automatic firearms with detachable magazines while promoting limited-capacity, fixed-magazine alternatives.
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Outside The Reload
A New Twist on Right to Carry Reciprocity | Cam & Co | By Cam Edwards
Fifth Circuit upholds bar on people under indictment buying guns | Reuters | By Nate Raymond
Financial tracking of Ohio gun buyers banned | The Center Square | By J.D. Davidson
That’s it for this week in guns.
I’ll see you all next week.
Thanks,
Stephen Gutowski
Founder
The Reload
