ATF chief counsel Robert Leider mysteriously steps down to return to academia
On October 30, 2026, the ATF announced that Chief Counsel Robert Leider resigned from his position at the ATF, just over a year and a half after being appointed in March of 2025.
The ATF statement said that Leider would “return to his academic post as Assistant Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.”
Leider just appeared at the 2026 Gun Rights Policy Conference in Texas where he joined Director Robert Cekada on stage in a lengthy interview widely regarded as one of the ATF’s most transparent public appearances.
Leider was co-author of a 2023 article titled, “The General Law Right to Bear Arms,” that argued “that the Supreme Court’s decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen has been misunderstood and therefore unfairly maligned.”
Palmetto State Armory announces ship-to-FFL SBR sales in 17 states with no Form 4
On October 23, Palmetto State Armory, one of the named plaintiffs in the landmark August 5 Texas District Court decision striking down portions of the National Firearms Act, announced an expansion in its program to ship short-barreled rifles to FFLs in 17 states without a Form 4.
“Effective today, Palmetto State Armory has expanded the availability of eligible short-barreled rifles through our ship-to-FFL program in 17 states,” the company announced in a YouTube video.
As one of the plaintiffs in the case, Palmetto State Armory – and its customers – are protected by the permanent court injunction against the ATF’s ability to enforce NFA registration. The ATF issued guidance on October 9 stating a nationwide non-enforcement policy that could easily be reversed by a future administration, leaving some buyers preferring the more enduring protection of a firearm purchased under injunctive protection.
The list of states announced by PSA includes:
- Idaho
- Utah
- Wyoming
- South Dakota
- New Mexico
- Minnesota
- Kansas
- Texas
- Arkansas
- Mississippi
- Tennessee
- Kentucky
- Indiana
- West Virginia
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Maine
Some of these states have also announced that they are changing their laws to remove requirements to conform with registration under the NFA.
NRA sues law firm for $200 million in fees and damages, alleging malpractice
According to reporting, the National Rifle Association is suing Dallas lawyer William Brewer and his firm, Brewer Attorneys & Counselors, alleging “catastrophic financial and reputational harm.”
The suit was filed in Dallas County District Court, and seeks the repayment of $200 million in legal fees plus additional damages.
According to that same reporting, “the NRA claims Brewer and his team breached their professional and fiduciary duties in representing the Virginia-based gun advocacy organization over a six-year span in many high-profile legal actions.”
Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors represented the NRA in numerous lawsuits beginning in 2018.
Election results: Idaho voters choose a state gun and stop abortion-up-to-birth measure
While 2026 midterm election results saw a wave of Democrat candidates take seats in traditionally unlikely jurisdictions, there were a few positive outcomes.
Idaho voters chose the Winchester 1873 as the state gun, defeating five other options with 31% of the vote. While that outcome is inconsequential, Idaho has been at the forefront of preserving Second Amendment rights, both as a state plaintiff in the now-famous Texas District Court case that struck down portions of the NFA, and as one of the first states to publicly encourage its residents to purchase unregistered NFA firearms such as suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns.
In the same theme of protecting life, Idaho voters also rejected Proposition 1, a measure which would have “permitted abortion up to the point of fetal viability”, or, in more direct language, allowed abortion up until birth.
Gun rights group predicts gun sales will "surge" as a result of midterm elections
On November 4, as election results were still being tallied but leaning strongly in favor of a Democratic takeover of Congress, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) issued a press release predicting “a rush of buyers to gun shops and sporting goods stores” prior to the January 2027 legislative session.
“We may be about to witness a surge in gun buying not seen since 2020,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “We also anticipate a flood of new, anti-Second Amendment legislation designed to further restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens, especially in states with legislatures controlled by Democrats, and from Congress. The gun prohibition lobby is probably already salivating over various schemes to ratchet down on gun owners, to get around a string of recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings which have affirmed the individual right to keep and bear arms.”
According to the latest NICS background check data from the FBI, so far in 2026 there have been 21,652,247 background checks, with 2,221,553 in October alone.
On a positive note, Gottlieb also said, “One other phenomenon we look for is a sharp rise in memberships and support, not just at the Citizens Committee, but other gun rights organizations.”
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