Oral Arguments scheduled in Roberts v. ATF challenging National Firearms Act
Oral arguments are set for October 20 in one of the major challenges to the National Firearms Act, Roberts v. ATF.
Originally filed in February of this year, the complaint (out of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky) argues that the NFA registration scheme is no longer valid since the excise tax was removed with the One Big Beautiful Bill in 2025. It further argues that NFA restrictions “constitute an unconstitutional regulatory scheme as pertains to suppressors and short-barreled rifles under the Second Amendment.”
The suit is backed by a coalition of gun rights groups who filed a motion for summary judgment in April of this year.
Law enforcement files a pro-Second Amendment brief to dismay of anti-gun groups
WASHINGTON — On August 31, the National Sheriffs’ Association and Western States Sheriffs’ Association filed a joint amicus curiae in the combined Viramontes case before the Supreme Court overwhelmingly in support of Second Amendment rights and opposing bans on what it called “the most popular firearm in America,” the AR-15.
Collectively the two groups represent nearly 4,200 sheriffs, with the NSA comprising 13,000 members.
Kostas Moros, director of legal research and education at the Second Amendment Foundation, noted the significance, writing, “Antigunners like to brag that law enforcement is on their side when it comes to things like AWBs and mag bans. Well, that’s changing.”
Californians see small victory in bill allowing concealed carry while bow hunting
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On August 27, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1912 which amends the California fishing game code, allowing bow hunters to carry concealed firearms for self-defense during deer season.
Surprisingly, the measure passed with unanimous consent in committee and both legislative chambers, according to the California Rifle and Pistol Association. It goes into effect on January 1, 2027. The offending prohibition dates back to the late 1930s.
ATF provides updates to cyber-security attack; other groups confirm leak
WASHINGTON — The ATF is coming under further scrutiny and pressure as new details emerge from the cyber-attack disclosed on August 26, 2026, involving a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives computer system.
In its initial statement, the ATF said senior Justice Department officials had designated the event a “major incident,” triggering a DOJ investigation and required notifications to Congress. The agency said the affected system was separate from its enterprise network, eForms system, and other operational systems, and that its mission was not disrupted.
On Monday, August 31, reporting from Gun Owners of America indicated that the Russian-speaking Qilin ransomware group published more than 6 GB of data it claimed was taken from the ATF, including investigation-related material such as names, phone numbers, IP addresses, and phone/forensic dumps.
The same day, ATF Director Robert Cekada said the agency was “aware of claims concerning the publication of data” from its CALEA system and that it had “not confirmed the authenticity, nature, or scope of the material at issue.”
Critics of the ATF argue the agency should not maintain records that could function as a firearms-ownership registry. The ATF has said the compromised system contained information related to investigative targets, not a general gun-owner database. Separately, the ATF has long acknowledged holding more than a billion out-of-business FFL records and has maintained that those paper records are not digitized into a searchable registry.
The response from nearly every gun rights group and Second Amendment absolutist is simply, “yet!” as they call for a purging of the records.
New survey suggests 60% increase in Americans exercising concealed carry privileges
On August 26, William English with the McDonough School of Business, at Georgetown University, released a new survey of 51,398 people that revealed some dramatic changes to Americans’ relationship with firearms.
At the top of the list of interesting facts is that nearly 40% of gun owners over the age of 21 carry a handgun “at least sometimes,” an increase of 60% since 2021.
Women continue to be one of the fastest-growing demographic groups representing 45.7% of gun owners. Amy Swearer, senior legal fellow at American Freedom, stated, “This is my favorite because critics of the 2021 survey basically suggested that it only found unexpectedly high numbers of female gun owners because women didn’t understand the question. They were obviously just reporting their husbands’ guns as their own. The 2026 survey specifically told respondents to exclude guns owned by their spouses.”
Black and Hispanic ownership also continue to climb, coming in at 33% and 31.3% respectively. The survey suggests the overall adult firearms ownership rate is up slightly at 32.7% in 2026 compared to 31.9% in 2021.
The survey places defensive gun uses at approximately 2.2 million incidents per year (with no shots fired in 76.3% of cases). It also shows that 44.5 million adults own magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds – representing a staggering total of 539 million such magazines.
AR-15 ownership holds steady at 26.4 million adults, according to the survey, “with approximately 40 million AR-15 type rifles and 20 million other similarly styled rifles owned in total.”
AAG Dhillon announces Barry Arrington as the first Chief of new Second Amendment Section
WASHINGTON — Though he has been serving as acting chief since May of 2026, Barry Arrington received an official introduction as the first-ever chief of the Second Amendment Section in a September 3 X post from his boss, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon.
Mr. Arrington has decades of experience challenging gun control laws and served as the former chief counsel for the National Association for Gun Rights.
The Second Amendment Section, a subset of the DOJ’s Department of Civil Rights, was announced by Ms. Dhillon on December 9, 2025, and has the mission of securing “the natural firearm rights of law-abiding American citizens and ensur[ing] that such rights to keep and bear arms will not be infringed.”
Mr. Arrington will be a guest speaker at the 2026 Gun Rights Policy Conference in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.
ATF moves to relax photo and fingerprint requirements for firearms applications
WASHINGTON — On July 6, the ATF submitted a proposed rule to slightly relax requirements for firearms applications that would mostly eliminate redundant administrative requirements.
The rule, which is available on the Federal Register for comment until October 5, 2026, would remove the requirement to submit 2″ x 2″ passport-style photographs and up to two fingerprint cards and instead allow a copy of a photo ID and just one fingerprint card – and then only if needed for a background check.
Federal Judge upholds Hawaii’s young adult gun ban
HONOLULU — We can think of no other constitutionally protected right that is age-restricted yet time and again activist courts continue to uphold gun bans for adults under 21 while the Supreme Court seems to have no interest to intervene in such an issue.
On August 31, the United States District Court of the District of Hawaii upheld what amounts to a complete ban on firearms possessions (with a very few temporary exemptions) for Hawaiian young adults under 21.
The 43-page decision in Roache, et al. v. Lopez concludes that “Hawaii’s age restriction conforms with the country’s historical tradition of firearm regulation…” Hawaii has previously invoked the “aloha spirit” as a framework that “inspires constitutional interpretation” and resulted in many of its gun control laws.
Briefs pour in for Viramontes, pending Supreme Court case addressing ‘assault weapons’
WASHINGTON — During the week of August 31, both petitioners and amici began submitting briefs (at least 14 as of this publishing) in what is likely to be one of the most closely followed cases in Supreme Court history.
On June 30, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in two consolidated cases known as Viramontes v. Cook County, which will address so-called assault-weapons bans – the first such case ever heard by the court.
The Firearms Policy Coalition- and Second Amendment Foundation-backed case asks: “Whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee the right to possess AR-15-platform and similar semiautomatic rifles.”
The SCOTUS docket lists at least 14 distinct amicus briefs, in addition to the petitioner’s brief. The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs also filed an amicus brief.
