By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New: Secretary of Commerce: letter from Senator Lee and Representative Green; Arizona: two pro-Second Amendment bills in Judiciary Committee; California: AB1333, “no duty to retreat” law being threatened Colorado: gun bills on the move; Iowa: HR262, Minnesota: HF13, eliminating no duty to retreat bill failed; New Mexico: Committee passed SB318; New York: S1289 introduced; South Dakota: SB100/HB1222 on their way to Governor Larry Rhoden’s desk; Texas: The Senate State Affairs Committee had a hearing for SB706, recognizing out-of-state Right-to-Carry Permits, was reported out of committee on March 5. Last week’s information was incorrect; Washington: SB5098, an additional gun-free zones bill, passed the Senate 28-21 on March 5.
Congress
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Mark Green (R-TX-07) sent a letter to the new Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnik requesting that a Biden Administration Interim Final Rule, that a 90-day pause on firearms export license be implemented in October 2023, which then was turned into a new export restriction on where semi-automatic firearms could be sold. For more information on this anti-Second Amendment effort by the former administration, check out this NSSF.
All 50 state legislatures are in session in 2025
Additional states convening in March: Florida, Louisiana and Maryland.
Arizona: Two pro-Second Amendment bills, SB1014 and SB1020, will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee today. You can testify by filling out a Request to Speak application (RTS). SB1014 removes suppressors from Arizona”s prohibited weapons category, and SB1020 allows Right-to-Carry Permittees to carry on college campuses.
California: AB1333 was introduced on Feb. 21, and is currently “pending referral.” It is spearheaded by Assemblymember Zbur and supported by Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action. The bill targets the state’s “no duty to retreat” self-defense law, aiming to repeal it and require victims to attempt retreat before defending themselves. If passed, this law would shift legal burdens, potentially prosecuting those who stand their ground rather than flee, a move critics call a “criminals first” approach that prioritizes offenders over law-abiding citizens. This bill would weaken a fundamental right, leaving victims vulnerable and doing little to address actual crime rates.
Colorado: SB25-003 was originally a sweeping semi-automatic firearm ban, has now morphed into a Firearm Owner Identification (FOID)-like “permit-to-purchase” scheme, and this new version is set for a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, March 11 at 1:30 PM. After being yanked from earlier schedules due to fierce pushback from gun owners, the bill now mandates training—four hours for concealed carry or hunter safety holders, 12 hours for others—plus sheriff vetting and a firearms safety course eligibility card, all to buy common semi-autos like AR-15s or handguns with detachable magazines.
Iowa: HSB262 changes the eligibility age for a Right-to-Carry Permit from 21 to 18, passed the House Judiciary Committee on March 6, by a 17-4 margin.
Kentucky: SB75, removing discriminations against 18-20-year-old law-abiding adults from carrying a firearm for self-defense, is now before the State Senate after the Senate Judiciary Committee gave its support.
Minnesota: On March 6, The Minnesota House voted 66-66 on HF13, which would have eliminated the current duty to retreat law, thus killibng this important legislation. According to @mnguncaucus on X.com: “In Minnesota, you can use force, even deadly force, to defend yourself provided you first try to get away from your attacker and your counterforce is commensurate with the danger you are facing.
And that “duty to retreat” legal standard will remain the case because the House was unable to garner enough votes Thursday to pass HF13, which would have allowed a person to use reasonable force in self-defense “regardless of whether a reasonable possibility of retreat to avoid the danger exists.”
“This is not a ‘shoot first’ bill that you’re going to hear tonight,” said Rep. Matt Bliss (R-Pennington), the bill sponsor. Nor, he said, would it unleash unlawfulness whereby people are shooting each other over disputed parking spaces.
Needing 68 House votes for passage, the bill could only garner party-line results with 67 affirmative votes but 65 negative votes. It was then reconsidered and tabled in a pair of procedural moves.”
New Mexico: On March 8, the Senate Tax, Business & Transportation committee heard and recommended a Do Pass on SB318, legislation to massively expand penalties and legal liabilities for the firearm industry. This legislation will promote frivolous lawsuits and crippling legal fees to highly regulated firearms businesses by expanding the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act and allowing private lawsuits with the New Mexico Attorney General acting as a party to the lawsuit as the bill gives the AG the power to pursue civil penalties. This year’s GOSAFE Act, SB279, is ananti-Second Amendment bill introduced in the Senate. Our website provides a comprehensive description of the original bill. However, as amended, the substitute bill, SubSB279, is the committee substitute bill, which includes a grandfather clause that bans future acquisition of these firearms, leaving current owners with a 10-month window to certify possession. Both bills mention banning “large capacity magazine,” but SubSB279 Explicitly bans magazines holding more than 10 rounds, with no new sales or manufacture allowed after January 1, 2026. Current owners must serialize existing high-capacity magazines. Additionally, SubSB279 Permits possession of existing gas-operated semiautomatics if owners certify them within 10 months of enactment, and non-compliance after January 1, 2026, becomes a fourth-degree felony crime.
New York: The anti-Second Amendment legislature is attempting to add a New York Office of Gun Violence, S1289. A hearing will be held today in the Senate Codes Committee.
South Dakota: SB100/HB1222 on their way to Governor Larry Rhoden’s desk. SB100/HB1222 allows enhanced Right-to-Carry Permittees to carry on college campuses.
Texas: The Senate State Affairs Committee had a hearing for SB706, recognizing out-of-state Right-to-Carry Permits, was reported out of committee on March 5, 2025. Last week’s information was incorrect.
Washington: SB5098, additional gun-free zones bill, passed the Senate 28-21 on March 5.
