• Sort Order

Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
May 1, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
The United States urges the Supreme Court to review Wolford v. Lopez to clarify where firearms may be carried under the Second Amendment, challenging Hawaii’s novel default rule that bans concealed carry on public-facing private property without express consent, and highlighting the need for guidance also on who may possess arms and what types of arms are constitutionally protected.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
April 29, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
Congress lacks the constitutional authority to ban firearms, and the National Firearms Act—originally upheld as a tax measure—no longer rests on firm constitutional footing, especially given its arbitrary classifications, the narrow judicial interpretation it now requires, and the fact that items like short-barreled rifles and silencers are in common use and rarely linked to crime.
Article (Scholarly)
Wyoming Law Journal – 
2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
The National Firearms Act rests solely on Congress’s taxing power, not a power to ban firearms, and short-barreled rifles and silencers—mistakenly included in 1934—should be removed from the Act because they are in common use and rarely used in crime.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
April 9, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
In Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, the Supreme Court should resolve the proximate-cause question under PLCAA to prevent lower courts, like in Illinois’ Roberts case, from enabling speculative tort claims that bypass federal protections for the lawful firearm industry.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
April 3, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
The Ninth Circuit’s en banc decision in Duncan v. Bonta reaffirms California’s ban on standard-capacity magazines by redefining them as unprotected accessories rather than “arms,” in direct defiance of Heller, Bruen, and the Supreme Court’s originalist framework for Second Amendment analysis.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
March 31, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
The Supreme Court’s decision in Bondi v. VanDerStok upholds ATF’s 2022 definitions of “firearm” and “frame or receiver” as not facially invalid, but it misconstrues plaintiffs’ arguments, ignores key statutory limits, and leaves the door open for as-applied challenges and eventual repeal.
Video/Audio
The Dana Show – 
March 28, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
March 24, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s interim final rule revives the petition process under § 925(c) to lift firearm disabilities, aligning with Second Amendment developments and restoring a lawful remedy long blocked by congressional appropriations riders.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
March 20, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
The Supreme Court should grant certiorari in Jacobson v. Worth rather than issue a GVR, since the Eighth Circuit already engaged Rahimi in depth, especially given the mounting circuit split now sharpened by NRA v. Bondi, where the Eleventh Circuit relied on historically and doctrinally dubious analogies to uphold Florida’s age-based gun purchase ban.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
March 11, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
A petition for rehearing en banc challenges the Fifth Circuit’s ruling in United States v. Peterson, which held that suppressors are not “Arms” under the Second Amendment, overlooking their widespread lawful use for ear protection and recoil reduction—an opportunity for the Attorney General to reevaluate the United States’ stance and recognize that suppressors, like other firearm components, fall within the scope of constitutional protection.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
March 9, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
The Supreme Court’s oral argument in Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos suggests a favorable ruling for firearm manufacturers, likely dismissing Mexico’s claims of aiding and abetting liability while also addressing the broader issue of proximate cause under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
February 26, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
The Supreme Court should delay its decision in Garland v. VanDerStok to allow the new Administration to present its position on the ATF’s Final Rule redefining “firearm&rdquo and “firearm frame or receiver,&rdquo given its Second Amendment implications and the President’s recent Executive Order directing a review of firearm regulations.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
February 17, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
The Fifth Circuit in United States v. Peterson ruled that firearm suppressors are not “arms”” under the Second Amendment, rejecting claims that they enhance self-defense, while the case showed unresolved constitutional questions about firearm accessories and the application of Bruen.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
February 9, 2025
Subject(s): 2nd Amendment: Historical Issues
Reese v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives, decided by the Fifth Circuit on January 30, held that the federal prohibition on firearm sales to adults aged 18 to 20 violates the Second Amendment, rejecting historical analogues and emphasizing that the right to “keep and bear arms” inherently includes the right to purchase them.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
January 15, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
The Supreme Court has relisted two Second Amendment cases—Snope v. Brown, addressing Maryland’s ban on semiautomatic rifles in common use, and Ocean State Tactical v. Rhode Island, concerning a ban on common-use magazines—highlighting the fundamental issue of self-defense rights and the evolving legal landscape shaped by landmark decisions such as Bruen.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
January 13, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
The Third Circuit’s en banc decision in Range v. Attorney General underscores the urgent need for Supreme Court clarification on Second Amendment jurisprudence, particularly regarding the constitutionality of disarming non-violent felons like Bryan Range, amidst a growing circuit split and legislative challenges.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
January 9, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
Four Second Amendment petitions, including Snope v. Brown challenging Maryland’s semiautomatic rifle ban, highlight the urgent need for Supreme Court clarification as Colorado prepares to enact SB 3, which would ban nearly all semiautomatic firearms.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy – 
January 7, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
The Supreme Court faces critical decisions on whether bans on semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines, commonly used for lawful purposes, violate the Second Amendment’s protection of individual rights.
Book
Publisher: Thomson Reuters, 
2024
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
Article (Magazine & Newspaper)
America’s 1st Freedom – 
December 19, 2024
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
State laws criminalizing commonly owned rifles defy the Second Amendment’s protection of arms in common use, with courts upholding such bans through flawed reasoning and disregard for U.S. Supreme Court precedent in cases like Heller and Bruen.