This week, we acquired a glimpse into how Democrats are going to deal with weapons within the wake of their 2024 loss.
David Hogg, the distinguished and aggressive gun-control activist, grew to become one of many DNC’s vice chairs. His bombastic fashion and the dearth of Democratic help for pro-gun laws ship a transparent sign on the place the social gathering is at at present, as I clarify in a member’s piece.
Trump’s Lawyer Common choose was confirmed this week, too. And she or he took some fast motion on the ATF. However in all probability not the motion gun-rights advocates have been hoping for.
Within the courts, a federal choose tossed machinegun possession expenses in opposition to a Mississippi man. Contributing Author Jake Fogleman additionally breaks down the potential ramifications of the Fifth Circuit’s ruling on handgun gross sales age restrictions.
Plus, Karl Kasarda of InRangeTV joins the podcast to speak in regards to the battle over the Second Modification for all. We even have a ton of tales within the hyperlinks, together with one other Trump nominee on the gun laws he needs to undo and Fb telling Trump Jr. it plans to loosen gun restrictions.
Gun-Management Activist David Hogg Tapped for DNC Vice Chair By Jake Fogleman
A mass-shooting survivor turned gun-control activist will assist steer the Democratic Celebration’s political response to being shut out of federal energy.
David Hogg, a Parkland taking pictures survivor and March for Our Lives co-founder, was elected vice chair of the Democratic Nationwide Committee on Saturday. He secured his place alongside two different vice chairs and new social gathering chairman Ken Martin, the previous head of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Celebration, to assist lead the DNC’s efforts to regain electoral floor and fight the second Trump administration.
“I’m deeply grateful to the members for his or her belief and perception in me, and I don’t take it frivolously,” Hogg wrote on X after profitable his election. “Now it’s time to get to work.”
Click on right here to learn extra.
Evaluation: Democrats Sign No Shift on Weapons [Member Exclusive] By Stephen Gutowski
Whereas a major variety of Democrats have shifted positions on some points within the wake of their 2024 loss, the identical can’t be mentioned about weapons.
On Saturday, the Democratic Nationwide Conference (DNC) elevated a distinguished gun-control activist to its management. David Hogg gained one of many vice chair spots on the nationwide group. He first gained notoriety after serving to manage March for Our Lives within the wake of a taking pictures at his highschool in Parkland, Florida. Since then, he’s grow to be one of the crucial aggressive gun-control activists within the nation–backing gun bans and advocating for the expulsion of these in his social gathering who disagree.
In the meantime, few within the social gathering have backed the pro-gun payments starting to make their means into Congress. Between the Home and Senate variations of 5 main pro-gun payments, there’s precisely one which’s garnered any Democratic help in any respect up to now. That invoice, the Home’s model of the Constitutional Hid Carry Reciprocity Act, has exactly one Democratic co-sponsor.
For those who’re a Reload Member, click on right here to learn extra. If not, be a part of at present for unique entry!
AD: The Dispatch is For The Silent Majority of Self-Directed Thinkers
Uninterested in partisan media cheerleading for one workforce? Get the information with out the drama while you be a part of The Dispatch.
Jonah Goldberg and Steve Hayes launched The Dispatch in 2019 to construct a permanent presence on the center-right for authentic reporting and considerate evaluation. No insulting clickbait, no false outrage, no annoying auto-play movies—simply dependable journalism that prioritizes context, depth, and understanding.
Be a part of half one million loyal readers and begin studying The Dispatch at present.
Reload readers: Declare your unique 30-day, all-access FREE trial at present.
Bondi Confirmed as AG Regardless of Gun Group Objections By Stephen Gutowski
The Senate confirmed Donald Trump’s choose for the highest legislation enforcement official within the land over complaints from some gun-rights advocates on Wednesday.
In a 54-46 vote, the higher chamber of Congress authorised Pam Bondi’s ascension to Lawyer Common, with Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman as the one crossover vote in help. Her affirmation got here regardless of opposition from some gun-rights activists over her combined historical past on gun coverage. Gun Homeowners of America expressed a willingness to work with Bondi but additionally skepticism about her intentions.
“Gun homeowners have seen firsthand how an anti-gun Lawyer Common can abuse their energy to undermine the Structure,” Erich Pratt, the group’s senior vp, mentioned in an announcement. “Pam Bondi’s affirmation is a stark reminder that we should keep vigilant to make sure she defends, reasonably than dismantles, our God-given rights.”
Click on right here to proceed studying.
Bondi Orders ATF to Shift Sources Away from Alcohol, Tobacco By Stephen Gutowski
In one in every of her first acts as Lawyer Common, Pam Bondi ordered an obvious reshuffling of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
As a part of a memo outlining the Trump Administration’s strategy to charging and sentencing, Bondi ordered the ATF to deprioritize some enforcement efforts. As a substitute, she advised the company to focus assets on areas starting from immigration enforcement to human trafficking and transnational gangs. Nevertheless, she additionally advised them to not deprioritize firearms laws.
“To free assets to handle extra urgent priorities, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) shall shift assets from its Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement Packages to concentrate on issues regarding the opposite priorities set forth herein,” Bondi mentioned within the memo. “No assets shall be diverted from the ATF’s regulatory obligations, resembling federal firearms licenses and background checks.”
Click on right here to learn extra.
Federal Choose Guidelines Machinegun Prices Towards Mississippi Man Violate Second Modification By Stephen Gutowski
Merely possessing a machinegun just isn’t against the law, in response to one federal choose.
US District Choose Carlton Reeves dismissed expenses in opposition to Justin Bryce Brown, a Mississippi man with no prior legal file, over his possession of an unregistered machinegun final week. He discovered the federal legislation successfully banning the sale and possession of recent manufacturing or unregistered machineguns was unconstitutional as utilized to Brown’s particular circumstances. He argued the Supreme Courtroom’s ruling in 2022’s New York State Rifle and Pistol Affiliation v. Bruen required him to achieve that conclusion.
“The controlling commonplace of the second requires this Courtroom to ‘determin[e] the contours of acceptable prosecutions by the decision of continuous as-applied challenges,’ based mostly on the proof and arguments earlier than it,” Choose Reeves wrote in US v. Brown. “Underneath that commonplace, Mr. Brown’s as-applied problem is sustained. His movement is granted and the case dismissed.”
Click on right here to learn the remainder.
Podcast: InRangeTV’s Karl Kasarda on the Combat Over the Second Modification for Everybody By Stephen Gutowski
This week, we’ve acquired one of the crucial distinguished and longest-running Guntubers on the present.
InRangeTV’s Karl Kasarda joins the podcast to debate his view of the Second Modification and the backlash his advocacy has generates from different sections of the gun proudly owning group. He argues gun rights belong to everybody, no matter race, ethnicity, gender, faith, or sexual orientation. Not everybody agrees with that listing.
You may take heed to the present in your favourite podcasting app or by clicking right here. Video of the episode is offered on our YouTube channel.
Plus, Contributing author Jake Fogleman and I focus on new claims from the gun trade in regards to the ATF persevering with to implement its controversial “zero tolerance” coverage regardless of Trump’s guarantees to reverse it. We speak about Trump’s lack of gun coverage motion to this point and why some gun-rights teams are beginning to converse out. We additionally cowl a major new ruling out of the Fifth Circuit Courtroom of Appeals the place a 3 choose panel simply struck down the federal handgun gross sales ban for younger adults.
Audio right here. Video right here.
Evaluation: Potential Ramifications of the fifth Circuit’s Handgun Ruling [Member Exclusive] By Jake Fogleman
Swiftly, age-based gun restrictions have grow to be the darkish horse candidate for the Supreme Courtroom’s subsequent Second Modification case.
Its path to the Courtroom has an opportunity to change the course of gun politics and coverage over the subsequent few years. On Thursday, a unanimous three-judge panel for the Fifth Circuit Courtroom of Appeals struck down a mix of federal statutes that ban adults aged 18 to twenty from buying handguns at licensed gun shops.
“In sum, 18 U.S.C. §§ 992(b)(1), (c)(1) and their attendant laws are unconstitutional in mild of our Nation’s historic custom of firearm regulation,” Choose Edith Jones wrote in Reese v. ATF. The ruling marks the primary time an appellate courtroom has invalidated the federal handgun gross sales age restrict for the reason that Supreme Courtroom set its new Second Modification take a look at in Bruen. Its aftermath raises quite a few political and authorized issues for gun-rights advocates and the federal government officers they’ve come to help.
For those who’re a Reload Member, click on right here to learn the remainder. If not, purchase a membership for unique entry to this and a whole bunch of different tales!
Exterior The Reload
Trump nominee will assessment Biden restrictions on firearms exports | Reuters | By David Shepardson
Donald Trump Jr.’s Firm Met With Meta About Firearms Censorship | Day by day Beast | By Sean Craig
The Trump Stoop Is Again, Gun Makers Say | Wall Avenue Journal | By Zusha Elinson and Cameron McWhirter
How a battle over Decrease Merion zoning guidelines may influence gun insurance policies throughout Pennsylvania | Philadelphia Inquirer | By Katie Bernard
Colorado is on monitor to lift the minimal age to purchase firearm ammunition | Colorado Solar | By Jesse Paul
How YouTube Is Altering American Gun Tradition | New York Instances | By Thomas Gibbons-Neff
High NC Republicans again laws to permit hid handguns and not using a allow | Information & Observer | By Avi Bajpai
That’s it for this week in weapons.
If you wish to hear knowledgeable evaluation of those tales and extra, be sure you seize a Reload membership to get our unique evaluation publication each Sunday!
I’ll see you all subsequent week.
Thanks, Stephen Gutowski Founder The Reload
![Analysis: The Changes Gun-Control Groups Want in DOJ’s Rights Restoration Plan [Member Exclusive]](https://i2.wp.com/cdn.thereload.com/app/uploads/2025/04/DSC08202-scaled.jpg?w=350&resize=350,250&ssl=1)
![Analysis: How DOJ Justifies the NFA Despite its New $0 Tax [Member Exclusive]](https://i3.wp.com/cdn.thereload.com/app/uploads/2025/04/DSC08030-scaled.jpg?w=350&resize=350,250&ssl=1)
![Analysis: Democrats Signal No Shift on Guns [Member Exclusive]](https://i2.wp.com/cdn.thereload.com/app/uploads/2024/05/DSC06396-scaled.jpg?w=75&resize=75,75&ssl=1)
