Happy Fourth of July
By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New—Politics; New York City Mayoral race; Shocking Wisconsin Supreme Court decision; The Big Beautiful Bill in the U.S. Senate; California: More bills before both Assembly and Senate Public Safety Committees; Maine: The Maine Senate passed LD1126, Maine’s so-called “ghost gun” bill, by a vote of 17-16; Michigan: Senate passed several anti-Second Amendment bills: New Jersey: In a surprising move for New Jersey, Englishtown Borough Council voted on June 11 to refund the $150 local gun permit fee for handgun carry permits; North Carolina: H193, is on the move; Oregon: SB243, the bill was changed by a 23-page amendment merging four anti-gun bills into a comprehensive, horrendous bill, and has passed the Senate 17-12 and the House and now the Senate will have to hold a concurrence vote; Pennsylvania: Sunday hunting bills that has been around the legislature for several years, are on the move; .Rhode Island: S359A, the Rhode Island Assault Weapons Ban, passed both the House and the Senate on June 20 and was sent to Governor Daniel J. McKee, who is expected to sign it; Texas: Governor Greg Abbott signed five pro-Second Amendment bills.
Politics
New York City Mayoral race
Last week, I summarized this race with the following:
“Mr. Mamdani, a 34-year-old Muslim, has emerged as a top contender for Mayor due to his progressive policies, including a citywide rent freeze, support for tenants’ rights, NYPD reform, free bus transportation, and free childcare. Additionally, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders have endorsed him. Mamdani has surged in polls, moving from 1% in February 2025 to 18–35% by June 2025, challenging Andrew Cuomo’s lead. His appeal is strongest among younger voters (under 40), as well as white and Asian voters, and the LGBTQ+ community, according to polls by organizations such as Honan Strategy Group and Marist. This election may be a harbinger of changing election patterns in blue states.”
My analysis was on point. However, even ultra-liberal New York City does not appear to be ready to embrace Mandami: Headlines in the newspapers were less than enthusiastic: The New York Post: NYC SOS: Who will save city after radical socialist batters Cuomo in Dem mayoral primary?” The New York Daily News: “Mamdani Stuns Cuomo.” New York Magazine: “Inside Mamdani’s Triumph and Cuomo’s Humiliation.” New York Times: “In Joyful Speech, Mamdani Vows to Work for ‘Each and Every New Yorker.’”
Mamdani’s Second Amendment platform was straightforward: “ban all guns.” Now, the politicking is starting all over again, with the race between Mamdani, Eric Abrams, who is the current mayor running as an independent, and perennial Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Wisconsin Supreme Court decision
In a shocking decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected a Democratic effort to redraw the state’s federal congressional district lines ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. This legal challenge, led by prominent Democratic lawyers, aimed to alter the current 6-2 Republican-to-Democrat split among Wisconsin’s eight congressional seats. Had the court accepted the challenge, Democrats could have increased their representation to a 4-4 split, potentially flipping two seats and narrowing the Republicans’ slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Federal Legislation
The Big Beautiful Bill in the U.S. Senate
Although the Senate Finance Committee caused a great deal of happiness by adding the provisions of the SHORT Act, which is sponsored in the U.S. Senate by Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS), as well as several new conforming amendments that would ease confusion arising from removing these items from the NFA, on June 26, 2025, the Senate Parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, who former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reed initially hired, stripped out several provisions including the NFA section entirely. There are only two people who would have the authority to overrule the Parliamentarian—the current Senate Majority Leader and the Vice President. It is doubtful that either one will, but enough constituent pressure could sway one or the other. According to the Reload,
“While the Majority Leader can fire the parliamentarian or the Vice President can overrule their decisions, there are good reasons that’s happened so rarely. It all has to do with the filibuster. Since reconciliation is a special Senate process designed to allow budget bills to avoid the 60-vote filibuster threshold–but it only applies to budget bills. So, the process is designed to root out anything that doesn’t primarily have a budget impact.
“In other words, the process is designed to protect the legislative filibuster.”
On June 27, 2025, a coalition of pro-Second Amendment groups published a statement:
“The American Suppressor Association, Gun Owners of America, Firearms Policy Coaliton, Second Amendment Foundation, Natioal Rifle Association, National Associations of Sporting Goods Wholesalers, and F.A.I.R. Trade Group strongly diaagree with the weaponized procedural maneuvering used by the unelected parliamentarian to block the removal of suppressors and short-barreled firearms from the NRA tax scheme in the One Big Beautiful Bill.
“Unless the Senate chooses to overrule her egregious decision or the Marjority Leader removes the existing parliamentarian, which is well within their rights, immediate action must be taken to ensure law-abiding Americans are able to exercise their Second Amendment rights without the draconian NRA tax.
Though not the full tax repeal it should have been, there is still an opportunity to use well-established precedent to lower the NFA’s unconstitutional excise tax on suppressors and short-barreled firearms to zero dollars.
“Our organizations stand united on behalf of millions of law-abiding gun owners in calling on Congress to immediately make this revision. This is a critical step in our fight against the unconstitutional NFA tax scheme and for the rights of all Americans.”
In the early morning hours of June 28, Gun Owners of America (GOA) posted a screen grab of page 491 of the bill:
“@SenateGOP revised H.R. 1 to reduce the NFA making & transfer tax to $0 for suppressors & short-barreled firearms.
After an NFA tax repeal, this is the next best “win” for gun owners unless the Parliamentarian is overruled or fired.”
Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), the author of the Short Act and the Representative that added it to H.B.1, One Big Beautiful Bill, gave his analysis and recommendation.
“The rewrite is another shot at this provision. It’s not perfect, but it’s far better than getting zero 2A victories.
“I strongly believe eliminating the tax provides a highly credible basis to challenge the NFA registration in court—because with the taxation repeal, there is no longer a foundation for the registration. The registration database is the method used by the government to account for the tax paid on each firearm by the serial number of the firearm. That’s why they are inseparably linked. No tax, no foundation for a registration database.
“We are not giving up, oh no!! We have just begun to fight and win. Let’s use this rare opportunity to eliminate the tax and restore another part of our Second Amendment rights.”
Even Rep.Clyde acknowledged that, “The Senate won’t overrule her.”My past experience with Republicans standing up for Second Amendment supporters has been very disappointing. Shortly after 11 p.m. on June 28, the Senate began reading the bill. They finished the reading around 3 p.m. on June 29, 2025, and then began 20 hours of speeches, followed by votes on amendments. I think Trump’s 4th of July deadline is likely to be delayed as the Senate Democrats stall as long as they can. These comments may be superseded by developments that occur after this report was emailed to thegunmag.com.
SCOTUS 2024-2025 WRAP-UP
The United States Supreme Court ended its 2024-2025 term this past week. Two cases, that are not Second Amendment cases, have been highlighted by Attorney Mark W. Smith on his YouTube channel, The Four Boxes Diner. I will summarize them as I believe, similarly to Smith, that they may be harbingers of the current Supreme Court’s thinking on its willingness to address the inability or unwillingness of lower courts to follow SCOTUS dicta.
Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, is a case concerning Medicare payments for abortions. In this case, the litigants sued the State of South Carolina when the state cut off Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of South Carolina. SCOTUS directly addressed the lower courts’ claim of confusion regarding the application of Supreme Court methodology. Since many lower courts in Second Amendment cases have openly stated that they are confused about how to apply Bruen methodolgy, Smith believes that this decision where the Supreme Court explicitly addressed the lower courts’ claims of confusion, saying if lower courts “lack the guidance they need,” the Supreme Court is willing to step in and clarify the law. Smith interprets this as a warning: if lower courts continue to claim confusion about how to apply Supreme Court precedents, they will clarify when a case gets to them.
Mimmude v. Taylor, is a case regarding the First Amendment rights of parents to have their children not be subjected to LGBTQ+ inclusive storybooks in primary schools. Smith links the ruling to broader concerns about ideological content in public education and suggests it is also a positive sign for advocates of other constitutional rights, such as the Second Amendment, as it shows the Court’s willingness to uphold individual liberties against government overreach.
In my opinion, although the cases were wins for conservative points of view, I think that the Medina case is more important to Second Amendment litigation than the Mimmude case. After all, we have seen time and again that Second Amendment cases often involve the state or municipality complaining about the difficulty of following SCOTUS precedent and claiming they need “experts” to figure it out.
State Legislatures
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming have adjourned.
California: On July 1, the Assembly and Senate Public Safety Committees are holding hearings on several anti-gun bills. These are bills that have already passed the legislative chamber where they were introduced. In the Senate Public Safety Committee, AB1127 prohibits certain semi-automatic pistols from being sold, and AB1263 criminalizes “knowingly or willfully causing” someone to manufacture a firearm. In the House Public Safety Committee, SB248 mandates that the CA DOJ send a letter to every firearm purchaser to warn them of the dangers of firearms’ ownership.
Maine: The Maine Senate passed LD1126, Maine’s so-called “ghost gun” bill, by a vote of 17-16.
Michigan: Senate passed several anti-Second Amendment bills: SB224, banning the possession, etc. of bump stocks; SB225 and SB226, prohibit firearm carry in the Capitol office buildings; SB331 and SB332 restrict law-abiding citizens from building firearms for personal use.
New Jersey: In a surprising move for New Jersey, Englishtown Borough Council voted on June 11 to refund the $150 local gun permit fee for handgun carry permits, becoming the first municipality in the state to eliminate what many view as a tax on Second Amendment rights. This decision follows New Jersey’s response to the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in NYSRPA v. Bruen. The state raised permit costs from $20 to $200, with $150 allocated to municipalities, a move critics argue was designed to deter lawful gun ownership.
Mayor Daniel Francisco, who proposed the refund, emphasized protecting residents from state overreach, stating that natural rights should not be behind a “paywall.” The resolution has sparked hope for broader change, with Joe LoPorto of the New Jersey Firearm Owners Syndicate (NJFOS) advocating for similar measures in towns across Atlantic, Gloucester, Sussex, and Hunterdon counties. LoPorto’s group is actively promoting the resolution through grassroots efforts and lobbying.
North Carolina: HB193, allowing citizens with a valid concealed hadgun permit license to carry on school grounds, was reported favorably out of both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Rules Committee, with amendments. However, the amendments severely limited who could carry and added additional education requirements, that made the bill almost irrelevant.
Oregon: SB243, the bill was changed by a 23-page amendment merging four anti-gun bills into a comprehensive, horrendous bill, and has passed the Senate 17-12.On June 25, the House passed the bill, and now the Senate will have to hold a concurrence vote. HB 3076 was killed on the House Floor with a rereferral to the Judiciary Committee.
Pennsylvania: Sunday hunting bills that has been around the legislature for several years, are on the move. The Senate Game & Fisheries Committee voted 6-5 to pass SB67 and HB1431 to the Senate floor for a vote.
Rhode Island: S359A, the Rhode Island Assault Weapons Ban, passed both the House and the Senate on June 20, and was sent to Governor Daniel J. McKee, who is expected to sign it.
Texas: Governor Greg Abbott signed five pro-Second Amendment bills: SB706, recognizes out-of-state carry permits, SB1362, prohibits the recognition or enforcement of red flag laws unless specifically authorized by Texas law; SB1596, remove short-barreled rifles and shotguns from Texas’ prohibited weapons; HB1403, removes the regulation that required foster parents to supply an inventory of firearms; and HB3053, prohibits municipal governments from sponsoring weapons buy-back programs.
