Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy –
June 25, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
New York’s blanket ban on firearms in all public parks is facially unconstitutional under Heller, because the possibility of valid applications in specific contexts—like urban parks—does not salvage a statute that lacks historical justification in its full scope.
Article (Magazine & Newspaper)
America’s 1st Freedom –
June 23, 2025
Subject(s): 2nd Amendment: Historical Issues
Gen. Gage’s broken promise to return surrendered firearms in 1775 Boston—after disarming citizens under the guise of temporary safekeeping—exemplifies how British efforts to confiscate colonial weapons galvanized American resistance and helped establish the right to keep and bear arms as a foundational liberty.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy –
June 16, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
For the first time, the Department of Justice has argued that bans on semiautomatic rifles and standard magazines—like Illinois’—violate the Second Amendment, affirming in Barnett v. Raoul that such commonly used arms are protected under Heller and Bruen.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy –
June 12, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
The FY25 reconciliation bill’s amendment to strike silencers from the National Firearms Act’s definition of “firearm” would reduce federal tax revenue and thus is not “extraneous” under the Byrd Rule, which only excludes provisions with no budgetary impact, as reaffirmed by Sonzinsky and NFIB v. Sebelius.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy –
June 9, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos confirms that Mexico failed to plausibly allege aiding-and-abetting liability under PLCAA, reinforces that the AR-15 is in common lawful use by Americans, and underscores that PLCAA exists to prevent politicized lawsuits against the firearm industry for third-party crimes.
Video/Audio
The Dana Show –
June 8, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy –
June 2, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
Justice Kavanaugh predicts the Supreme Court will address state AR–15 bans soon, arguing that Maryland’s outlier status and the rifle’s widespread lawful use support its protection under the Heller framework, while Justice Thomas dissents from the Court’s refusal to intervene now.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy –
May 28, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
J. Joel Alicea defends the Bruen decision as a historically grounded, originalist rejection of judicial interest-balancing tests, arguing that its text-and-history framework better aligns with constitutional structure and democratic legitimacy than the tiers of scrutiny it seeks to displace.
Article (Volokh Conspiracy Blog)
The Volokh Conspiracy –
May 14, 2025
Subject(s): Firearms Law & Precedent
The Washington Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Gator’s Custom Guns upholding the magazine ban reflects a broader judicial trend of circumventing Bruen by redefining what counts as an “arm” under the Second Amendment.
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).