By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New— Trump Administration and Public Health; Colorado: More anti-Second Amendment bills signed; Florida: two pro-Second Amendment bill on their way to Gov. DeSantis, Iowa: HF924 concealed carry expansion was signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds; Louisiana: SB101, reducing the number of gun-free zones, has passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee C; Maine: reprieve onanti-Second Amendment bills; Minnesota: anti-Second Amendment bills still viable; Nevada, SB62 gutted; North Dakota: HB1588, enhancing the state’s carry law, was signed by Governor Kelly Armstrong on April 2; Tennessee: SB1318/HB1332 and SB1360/HB873 on their way to Governor Bill Lee’s desk.
Trump Administration and Public Health
The Second Amendment Foundation published a press release concerning the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s staff reductions. SAF Founder Alan M. Gottlieb applauded the action and said, “With these reductions, the government is no longer treating gun ownership as a communicable disease.”
In another effort against former President Biden’s gun control initiatives, fifteen members of Congress signed a letter to HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr., expressing concerns about violations of current law regarding the misappropriation of funds for multiple anti-gun projects.They wrote:
“Meanwhile, the Biden Administration also weaponized millions of dollars of research funding appropriated by Congress in good faith for ‘Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research’ to promote gun control.”
Trump Administration and National Security
Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, declassified and released Biden’s“Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism” on April 16. This government plan shows how the Biden Administration, in conjunction with the anti-Second Amendment lobby, was using the pretext of combating “domestic terrorism” to limit Second Amendment rights. This document endorsed measures like red flag laws, funded by taxpayer money through the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and several states, to confiscate firearms without due process from individuals labeled as potential threats, despite no criminal activity.
It also supported banning “assault weapons” and “high-capacity magazines,” policies deemed ineffective based on the 1994-2004 Clinton gun ban and contrary to the Supreme Court’s Heller ruling, which protects firearms “in common use” like the AR-15 for self-defense. This document proves that gun owners’ concerns about being targeted as domestic terrorists were not only valid, but potentially threatened Constitutional rights. The Biden administration highlighted proposed anti-Second Amendment gun legislation in this manner:
“Weapons rights and gun-control legislation are likely to be hotly contested subjects of political debate in light of the 2008 Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller in which the Court reaffirmed an individual’s right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but left open to debate the precise contours of that right. Because debates over constitutional rights are intense, and parties on all sides have deeply held, sincere, but vastly divergent beliefs, violent extremists may attempt to co-opt the debate and use the controversy as a radicalization tool.”
State Legislatures
Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming have adjourned. Kansas and Maine are in recess.
Colorado: Governor Polis signs more gun control legislation: HB25-1238, an anti-gun show bill, and HB25-1133, which prohibits adults under 21 from purchasing ammunition.
Florida: SB952 and companion bill HB6025 have been forwarded to Gov. Ron DeSantis. These bills will protect Second Amendment rights during a state of emergency.
Iowa: HF924 concealed carry expansion was signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds.
Louisiana: SB101, reducing the number of gun-free zones, has passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee C.
Maine: The Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary expressed concerns about gun bills before their committee. As a result, they tabled all gun bills on April 24, 2025. This includes several pro-Second Amendment gun bills.
Minnesota: Several bills are still under consideration: SF1595, banning lead ammunition and fishing tackle, SF1596, bans so-called “assault weapons: and includes a buyback program, SF658, similar to a 2024 bill, makes failure to report a lost or stolen firearms a crime, HF1318, requires training in firearm safety before buying a firearm.
Nevada: The Nevada Firearms Coalition Political Action Committee sent out this announcement:
“SB 62, originally written to strip gun rights from those accused of misdemeanor bias crimes, has been gutted of its firearm restrictions. Your emails, testimony, and outreach made it clear—this bill was not only an overreach, but it was also unconstitutional. Lawmakers listened. Thank you for standing strong.”
North Dakota: HB1588, enhancing the state’s carry law, was signed by Governor Kelly Armstrong on April 2.
Tennessee: SB1318/HB1332 sets 18 years of age as the minimum age to apply for a Right-to-Carry Permit, and SB1360/HB873 protects firearm industry members from civil liability actions brought due to the unrelated actions of a third party. These bills are on their way to Governor Bill Lee’s desk.
