"On July 17, the Third Circuit declared New Jersey`s ban on semiautomatic rifles and magazines holding over ten rounds to violate the Second Amendment. The case is Ass`n of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, Inc. v. Attorney General New Jersey (AJNRPC), and the 10 to 5 en banc opinion is authored by Judge Arianna J. Freeman. This is the first circuit court decision to invalidate an `assault firearm` and magazine ban."
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"Judge Paul Matey`s concurrence minces no words: `Nothing has changed in the decades since the State launched its battle against the Second Amendment and its ongoing defiance of the law.` The terms `LCM` and `assault firearm` have no objective meanings but are `marketing materials recycled into legislation.` Although the opinion of the court doesn`t mention features, Judge Matey explains, `There is too much evidence that all of the arms at issue—pistol grips, folding stocks, magazines containing eleven or more rounds, and the semiautomatic shotguns and pistols New Jersey lumped into the definition of "assault weapons" with no real thought—are and have long been in common use for lawful purposes.`"

The above excerpts are from my Second Amendment Roundup blog post, "New Jersey Rifle and Magazine Bans Bite the Dust" (7/22/26).

Read the post at reason.com/volokh or copy and paste: https://reason.com/volokh/2026/07/22/second-amendment-roundup-new-jersey-rifle-and-magazine-bans-bite-the-dust/

Link can also be accessed through the home page of my website, stephenhalbrook.com
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#magazineban #semiautomatic #njgunlaws #2ndamendmentcases #secondamendmentroundup ...

"This otherwise normal looking rifle has a `fin grip` to comply with California`s prohibition on a rifle with `a grip that allows for a pistol style grasp in which the web of the trigger hand (between the thumb and index finger) can be placed beneath or below the top of the exposed portion of the trigger.` The fin forces the thumb into a `hitchhiker` position instead of encircling what would otherwise be a pistol grip."

From Halbrook, America`s Rifle: The Case for the AR-15, p. 29 (photo and caption).
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#fingrip #springfieldar15 #saintvictorar15 #californiagunlaws #AmericasRifleTheCaseForTheAR15 ...

Of all things, this 1940 wartime-era photo of two men holding M1903s is from a vintage knitting pattern booklet published in 1940, titled "Patons Knitting Book No. 396: Hand Knits for Men."

During World War II, yarn companies and volunteer organizations often published patterns featuring men wearing knitted garments while posing with military equipment, such as the M1903 rifles shown here. The imagery promoted cable-knit sweaters and sweater vests as warm, practical clothing for service members, civil defense, and outdoor activities.
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#patonsknittingbook #M1903 #M1903s #wwiiknitting #wwiiphoto ...

"On July 9, the Seventh Circuit decided Barnett v. Raoul, upholding Illinois` ban on AR-15 rifles....
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"In its opinion by Judge St. Eve and joined by Judge Easterbrook, the Barnett court assumed that the banned rifles are `arms` under Bruen step one, but found the ban to be consistent with `the principles that underpin the American regulatory tradition` under step two. Ignoring the fact that the Supreme Court had already decided in Heller that the historical tradition of firearms regulation permitting an arms ban is whether the arm is `dangerous and unusual,` the Seventh Circuit went on to do their own analysis as if Heller`s binding precedent governing arms bans did not exist.
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"Despite Bruen`s reiteration that the Second Amendment protects `weapons "in common use" today for self-defense,` Barnett asserts that `Bruen cuts against the conclusion that a weapon`s "common use" leaves it immune from regulation.` (The court takes `regulation` to mean banning.) ...
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"Chief Judge Brennan dissented in Barnett. Noting that the district court had produced `the most comprehensive trial record in any Second Amendment case to date,` he states: `Our Nation`s enduring traditions forbid governments from prohibiting firearms commonly owned for self-defense. Because the people have overwhelmingly chosen the AR-15 rifle and its magazine as their weapon of choice, they are protected by the Second Amendment."

The above excerpts are from my Second Amendment Roundup blog post, "Seventh Circuit Decides Barnett" (7/16/26).

Read the post at reason.com/volokh or copy and paste: https://reason.com/volokh/2026/07/16/second-amendment-roundup-seventh-circuit-decides-barnett/

Link can also be accessed through the home page of my website, stephenhalbrook.com
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#BarnettvRaoul #SCOTUS #2ndamendmentcases #secondamendmentroundup #ar15rifles ...

I`ve just submitted the update for the 31st edition of my Firearms Law Deskbook to my publisher. I`ve updated this book every year since its first publication in 1995.

The 2026–2027 edition should be available from Thomson Reuters later this fall. I wrote this two-volume set to provide attorneys with detailed coverage of federal, state, and local gun control laws, court decisions, agency regulations, and insider insights. It`s a valuable reference for attorneys who practice in this complex and constantly evolving area of law. Learn more on my website: stephenhalbrook.com/books/firearms-law-deskbook/
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#firearmslawdeskbook #stephenhalbrook #firearmslaw #firearmsattorney #firearmscases ...

After Theodore Roosevelt`s death in 1919, family tradition held that his wife, Edith, used his FN Model 1899 pistol to teach their grandchildren marksmanship from the back porch of their home at Sagamore Hill. Roosevelt had carried the pistol for personal protection during his first term as president.

Photo from: https://www.nrablog.com/articles/2016/3/the-guns-of-theodore-roosevelt-and-friends/
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#FN1899 #FNpistol #FNpistols #theodoreroosevelt #teachingmarksmanship #SagamoreHill ...

What a smile! And what a bag of ducks. Pat Peacock was one of history`s greatest duck callers. A champion at just 12 years old, she remains the only woman to win the World`s Championship Duck Calling Contest twice (1955 and 1956) and the Champion of Champions title (1960).

Photo caption: "Pat Peacock, legendary duck caller and a pioneer amongst women in the sport of duck hunting. (Photo courtesy of Mossy Oak, recolored by @fourszn_outdoors)"
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#patpeacock #duckhunting #duckcalling #waterfowlhunting #worldduckcallingchampionship ...