By eliminating the tax on most firearms while retaining registration requirements, H.R. 1 strips the National Firearms Act of its constitutional basis under U.S. Const. Art. I, § 8, leaving only machineguns and destructive devices subject to valid regulation and opening the rest to successful constitutional challenge.

By eliminating the tax on most firearms while retaining registration requirements, H.R. 1 strips the National Firearms Act of its constitutional basis under U.S. Const. Art. I, § 8, leaving only machineguns and destructive devices subject to valid regulation and opening the rest to successful constitutional challenge.

Chief Judge Renée Marie Bumb’s injunction in Koons & Siegel v. Platkin underscores how New Jersey’s post-Bruen carry restrictions disregard both historical tradition and constitutional 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.