By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New—Politics; New York City Mayoral race primary June 24; Virginia races: Primary election was June 17; The Big Beautiful Bill in the U.S. Senate: On June 20, the bill that was voted out of the Senate Finance Committee includes the SHORT Act. It will now have to pass the entire Senate and then be accepted by the House; Department of Justice (DOJ): gun rights restoration rule; Connecticut: On June 10, Governor Ned Lamont signed HB 7042; HB850 has passed the House and been signed by Governor JB Pritzker; Maine: The legislature adjourned on June 16. Three pro-Second Amendment bills were passed, and two have been signed; Minnesota: the Environmental Omnibus Bill has passed in the Special Session; North Carolina: Governor Josh Stein, on June 20, vetoed the constitutional carry bill, SB50; Oregon: SB243, passed the Senate and is before the Ways and Means Committee; 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.
Politics
New York City Mayoral race
Tomorrow, a Democratic primary race for the New York City (NYC) Mayor will be held. I know, New York City does not have any politicians who support the Second Amendment, so why am I writing about it? First, there is early voting from June 11 to June 22, with the final vote on June 24. And voting is conducted by ranked choice (RCV), which only occurs during mayoral primaries, not the general election. Given the crowded Democratic primary field, ranked-choice voting (RCV) could significantly shape the outcome, as second and third choices may ultimately determine the winner.
The 2025 NYC Democratic mayoral primary, scheduled for June 24, features eleven candidates vying to replace incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent in the general election. Below is a list of candidates who qualified for the primary debates, based on fundraising and petition signatures. Among the candidates are NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Michael Blake (a former State Assemblyman), former Governor Andrew Cuomo, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, and Zohran Mamdani (State Assemblyman).
In a typical scenario, we would expect Cuomo, with his massive name recognition, to win the primary. However, with RCV voting, which allows voters to rank up to five candidates, the outcome may become wildly different. The June 9 poll by Marist has the following scenario: Cuomo 43%, Mamdani 31%, Lander 8%, and Adrienne Adams 7%. A June 5 poll results: Mamdani 35%, Andrew Cuomo 31%, Brad Lander 9%, Adrienne Adams 4%, and Scott Stringer 5%. 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 transportation on buses, 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), white and Asian voters, and the LGBTQ+ community, per polls like Honan Strategy Group and Marist. This election may be a harbinger of changing blue state election patterns.
Virginia races: Primary election June 17
For the 2025 Virginia statewide elections, the Republican candidates for the three major offices—Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General—are as follows, along with their opponents:
Governor: Winsome Earle-Sears, the current Lieutenant Governor, is the Republican nominee and faces opposition from Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee and former U.S. Representative. Previously, the NRA-PVF has rated Earle-Sears an A and Spanberger an F.
Lieutenant Governor: John Reid, a former talk radio host, is the Republican nominee. He faces opposition from Ghazala Hashmi, the Democratic primary winner, who is the first South Asian and Muslim statewide candidate for Lt. Governor.
Attorney General: Incumbent Jason Miyares, rated an A, is the Republican nominee seeking re-election. He faces opposition from Jerrauld “Jay” Jones, the Democratic primary winner, who has been rated an F by the NRA-PVF.
Federal Legislation
The Big Beautiful Bill in the U.S. Senate
As of June 18, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee has modified the Big Beautiful Bill. The Committee has added 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 ease confusion arising from removing these items from the NFA. Additionally, this new modification eliminates the onerous $200 federal tax, the federal registry for these firearms, and the paperwork currently required for all suppressor purchases. The new language covers the removal of short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and “any other weapon” as defined by the NFA. Thus, the Senate Finance Committee added the SHORT ACT to this bill and ignored the House Democrats’ letter concerning removing suppressors. The bill has not yet passed the Senate, and it includes, at this moment, items that may have to be reconciled with the House.
On June 19, Giffords came out with a press release:
WASHINGTON — GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention group led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, condemned the newly released Senate reconciliation bill for removing silencers, short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns from the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934. Nearly 100 years ago, Congress enacted registration, background checks and fees for these weapons because of the magnitude of their dangerousness and the regularity with which they were used in crime.
“Across the country, we hear from Americans who are afraid to leave their homes and Republicans in Washington are showing us why. We’re mere hours away from the stalking and murdering of Minnesota legislators, and some Republicans are still taking their orders from greedy gun industry CEOs,” said GIFFORDS Executive Director Emma Brown. “Voters sent lawmakers to Washington to protect their families, not make life easier for hitmen. No one is better off if killers have silencers and sawed-off shotguns except the people who make money selling them. Americans are sick of this.”
On June 20, the bill that was voted out of the Senate Finance Committee includes the SHORT Act. It will now have to pass the entire Senate and then be accepted by the House.
Department of Justice (DOJ)
In our Grassroots Update of March 30, we reported on the Trump DOJ publishing the Interim Final rule “Withdrawing the Attorney General’s Delegation of Authority” on March 30.
“The Trump administration has shifted this function to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, and the new rule formalizes this change, aiming to ensure a process that balances public safety with the restoration of rights for non-dangerous individuals.”
For over 20 years, Democrats have added an amendment to every Appropriation bill for the ATF that denies federal expenditures for the restoration of any firearms rights. Changing the authority to initiate (spend dollars) for investigating the requests for firearms rights from the ATF to the Office of Pardon Authority under the DOJ allows the DOJ to begin the restoration process. Anti-Second Amendment Democrats are againing groups dislike this new DOJ rule.
Now, six Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees have sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi asking her to withdraw the interim final rule that she published almost three months ago. Additionally, Brady, an anti-Second Amendment lobbying group, has criticized Bondi’s rule and called it “a blatant and dangerous power grab by the Trump administration, and a gift to his donors in the gun industry.” While GOA called the rule “outstanding progress.”
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.
Connecticut: On June 10, Governor Ned Lamont signed HB 7042, which allows civil causes of action to be brought against firearm industry members who fail to implement “reasonable controls.”
Illinois: The Illinois legislature adjourned—But not before a bill that turns due process on its head, HB850, has passed the House and been signed by Governor Pritzker. SB8, which expands mandatory storage laws, jas mpt yet been signed.
Maine: The legislature adjourned on June 16. Despite the anti-Second Amendment politicians’ best efforts, two of the three pro-Second Amendment bills were passed, and all the remaining “bad” bills were defeated. Signed June 18: LD1174, and on May 30: LD1322. Not sure about LD1867, prohibiting payment processors from using firearm-specific merchant category codes for firearms, ammunition, and components, as of this moment.
Minnesota: As we mentioned on our June 9 Report, “A special session has been scheduled for Monday, June 9, to discuss the Environmental Omnibus Bill outside of the regular session. For 80 years, state hunting regulations have included restrictions on the use of rifles for deer hunting.”We are happy to report that the bill included the removal of restrictions on rifle deer hunting.
North Carolina: Governor Josh Stein, on June 20, vetoed the constitutional carry bill, SB50.
Oregon: SB243, the bill was changed by a 23-page amendment merging four anti-gun bills into a comprehensive, horrendous bill, has passed the Senate 17-12. A public hearing was held on June 11, where 456 people submitted testimony, with more than 99% of those opposing the proposal. The Ways & Means Committee held a work session on June 20.
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.
