By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New— Final Rules on the U.S. Munitions list: U.S. suppressors added to Munitions list to be sold abroad: State Legislatures: California: in session with many more bills; North Carolina: On July 29, at 8:57 am the House voted 30-19 to override the veto and Freedom to Carry NC became law; Oregon: IP28—hunting ban fails to gather enough signatures;Politics: Remaining Primary Elections Calendar: Important August primary elections with listing of endorsed candidates;
Final Rules on the U.S. Munitions list
“The Final Rules are a tremendous boost to ensure American suppressor manufacturers can compete on an even playing field in overseas markets without burdensome and unnecessary regulatory burdens imposed on exporting USML items that made commercial export of suppressors economically impractical,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President & General Counsel. “These reforms will make American suppressor manufacturing an international competitor for what is essentially a muffler for a gun. In most of the world, recreational marksmen and women and hunters typically use suppressors that they can buy at a local hardware store or sporting goods retailer. American manufacturing will now more readily compete for that business. NSSF is grateful to the Trump administration, the Commerce Department’s BIS and the State Department’s DDTC for their attention in this matter.”
The Trump Administration’s export-control reform for firearms and ammunition was a targeted effort to modernize how the federal government regulates civilian arms exports, and the 2026 addition of suppressors largely completed that project. Rather than eliminating export controls, the reform shifted most commercially available firearms and ammunition from the State Department’s International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) system to the Commerce Department’s Export Administration Regulations (EAR), where they remained licensed but were treated more like dual-use commercial goods than uniquely military articles.
Before the 2020 rules took effect, many non-automatic firearms, related parts, and ammunition were listed on the U.S. Munitions List and regulated by the State Department as “defense articles.” The final rules transferred most of those items to the Commerce Control List, where exporters still needed licenses for many destinations but no longer faced the same ITAR registration burdens and defense-trade treatment that had applied under the older regime. Supporters argued that this change improved clarity, reduced compliance costs, and allowed American manufacturers to compete more effectively in foreign sporting and commercial markets without abandoning national-security review.
Suppressors, however, were initially left behind. When the firearms and ammunition rules were finalized in 2020, silencers and suppressors remained under State Department jurisdiction even though advocates of reform had argued that they should be treated consistently with other widely available civilian firearm accessories. The National Shooting Sports Foundation and many pro-gun groups argues strenuously for suppressors to be added the the list.
That argument ultimately prevailed in 2026. On July 22, the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security issued coordinated Interim Final Rules removing most civilian suppressors from the U.S. Munitions List and placing them under Commerce Department oversight. The practical effect is not deregulation but regulatory realignment. Suppressor exports still require government authorization in many cases, but the governing framework is now more consistent with the treatment of commercial firearms and ammunition adopted in 2020. Taken together, the 2020 and 2026 actions reflect a coherent Trump-era view that export law should sharply control genuinely strategic weapons technology while avoiding unnecessary restrictions on common civilian firearm products.
State Legislatures: Still in session:
States running through to Dec. 31, 2026: Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio. Pennsylvania session runs through Nov. 30, 2027.
California: Today, the legislature returns to attack Second Amendment rights, again! These bills have been passed in their originating House and are now waiting for votes in the final House before going to the Governor.
Awaiting a vote on the Senate floor: AB1974. Sold as a “voluntary” gun storage option, this bill gives the state more control over your legally owned firearms. It introduces more paperwork and bureaucracy when you try to retrieve your property, making it more difficult or costly to recover guns that are turned in for short-term safekeeping.
- California Senate Appropriations Suspense File – where finance bills are held before they are voted upon
AB1743 expands the state’s gun-owner data-sharing system, allowing more people to access information in California’s firearms databases. That’s concerning in a state where officials already leaked the personal data of thousands of gun owners and carry permit holders in a major 2022 breach.
- California Senate Appropriation – Hearing set for August 3, 2026
AB1753 – “Clarifies” Gun Violence Restraining Order rules by including ammunition in the same process used to seize firearms. In practice, it further bolsters red flag laws that have already taken away rights from lawful gun owners while avoiding basic due process. - AB1810 – Grants the California DOJ more authority to remove licensed firearm dealers from the state’s approved list and increases targeted annual inspections. The additional bureaucracy and enforcement could make it easier to force compliant dealers out of business.
- AB2047 – Limits the sale of 3D printers unless they include “firearm blueprint detection algorithms.” This broad restriction on legal technology raises serious concerns about free speech, innovation, and the rights of everyday Californians— including countless STEM teachers and tech professionals who depend on these tools.
In the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
- SB948 significantly expands California’s Firearm Safety Certificate requirements by mandating a minimum four-hour class with live-fire and official instruction starting in 2028. Crime involving guns isn’t caused by a lack of rules, but this bill adds more time and expense for law-abiding gun owners while doing nothing to stop criminals.
- SB1220 creates a new misdemeanor crime that bans guns and results in a 10-year firearm ban for anyone convicted of dealing with a gun that has altered identifying marks or a removed serial number. California already classifies this behavior as a misdemeanor; this bill just adds another way to lose your constitutional rights over a growing list of lesser offenses.
North Carolina: North Carolina’s House took up the veto override vote of S50, a permitless carry bill that passed in 2025, and was vetoed by Governor Josh Stein, and had been overridden in the Senate. On July 29 at 8:57 a.m. the House voted 30-19 to override the veto and Freedom to Carry NC became law.
Oregon: IP28 would have removed exemptions in Oregon’s animal abuse statutes that now shield lawful hunting, angling, trapping, livestock production, wildlife management, and animal research from criminal liability. Analyses of the proposal consistently concluded that, if enacted, it would have criminalized licensed hunting, sport and commercial fishing, trapping (including pest and wildlife control), slaughtering livestock and many standard animal husbandry practices, and much scientific and agricultural research using animals.
Signature Requirement and Campaign Status
For the PEACE Act to appear on the Nov. 3, 2026 general election ballot, proponents needed 117,173 valid signatures from registered Oregon voters by July 2. The campaign submitted more than 140,000–142,000 signatures, appearing to exceed the threshold on raw numbers, but only 104,262 were ultimately verified as valid after elections officials’ two-step review. As a result, IP28 missed the qualifying mark by roughly 13,000 valid signatures and officially failed to qualify.
Because IP28 did not qualify, Oregon voters will not decide this sweeping hunting/fishing/animal-agriculture ban in the 2026 general election. Existing statutory exemptions for lawful hunting, fishing, trapping, livestock slaughter, wildlife management, and animal husbandry remain in force, and the PEACE Act does not have any operative legal effect at this time.
Policy and Litigation Implications
Although IP28 failed for 2026, the campaign and allied organizations have framed it as part of a longer-term effort to narrow or eliminate animal-use exemptions, so similar language could reappear in future petition cycles. For civil-rights and constitutional litigators, the initiative’s structure—effectively redefining traditional wildlife harvesting and livestock practices as “criminal animal abuse” subject only to narrow self-defense and veterinary exceptions—raises substantial questions under due process, takings, and potentially state and federal constitutional provisions related to property and livelihood, even aside from any Second Amendment dimensions. Gun owners, hunters and fisherman must remain vigilant as this effort is likely to reemerge in future years.
Remaining Primary Elections Calendar:
July 28 gubernatorial primary election results
South Dakota: Current Governor Larry Rhoden won his Republican primary with 71% of the vote.
August Primary elections:: Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, Washington, and Wyoming
August 2026 Gubernatorial primary elections
The NRA Political Victory Fund has lined up behind pro‑gun Republican candidates in all three states, endorsing Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin, Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee, and Ty Masterson in Kansas and assigning each its highest “A+” or endorsement rating.
Kansas gubernatorial primary – Aug. 4
The NRA-PVF has issued an “A+” rating and formal endorsement to State Senate President Ty Masterson in the 2026 gubernatorial primary, framing its support around his legislative record on firearm rights. The endorsement announcement highlights Masterson’s role in advancing pro‑gun legislation in the Kansas Legislature and similarly urges “every Kansas voter who values their right to keep and bear arms” to support his campaign in the Republican primary.
Tennessee gubernatorial primary – Aug. 6
In Tennessee’s Aug. 6, 2026 gubernatorial primary, the NRA-PVF grades and endorsements page lists U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn as the endorsed Republican candidate for governor, identifying her as the NRA-backed choice in that statewide race. Consistent with its incumbent‑friendly posture, the NRA-PVF cites Blackburn’s long-standing support for gun rights as the basis for its backing, using its grading and endorsement framework to signal to Tennessee primary voters that she is the preferred candidate for preserving a favorable Second Amendment landscape at the state level.
Wisconsin gubernatorial primary – Aug. 11
The NRA-PVF has endorsed U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany for governor in the Aug. 11, primary and awarded him an “A+” rating, signaling both strong alignment with the NRA’s policy priorities and a record of active leadership on Second Amendment issues. The endorsement release characterizes Tiffany as a “proven champion” of the right to keep and bear arms, emphasizing his congressional record supporting legislation favorable to gun owners and sportsmen.
Endorsed candidates in Primary elections – August 4
Kansas: U.S. Senator: Senator Roger Marshall; U.S. House: CD-1: Rep. Tracey Mann; CD-2: Rep Derek Schmidt; CD-4: Rep. Ron Estes; State House: District 2-Rep Kenneth (Ken) Collins; District 5-Rep.Courtney Sappington; District 42-Rep. Lance W. Neelly; District 54-Rep. Ken Corbet; District 61-Rep. Francis Awerkamp; District 65-Rep. Shaun Chauncey; District 67-Rep.Kaleb James; District 68-Rep. Nathan (Nate) Butler; District 70-Rep.Greg H Wilson; District 71-Rep. Steven K. Howe; District 72-Rep. Avery Anderson; District 74-Rep. Mike King; District 75-Tyler Coats; District 76-Russel Stukey; District 81-Rep. Henry Helgerson; District 85-Rep. Ford Carr; District 85-Rep. Steven Brunk; District 101-Casey Slaughter; District 102-Rep. Kyler Sweely; District 102-Rep. Dawn Wolf; District 116-Rep. Kyle D. Hoffman; District 120-Rep. Adam Smith; District 120-Rep. Mike Storm..
Michigan: U.S. House: CD-1: Rep. Jack Bergman; CD-4: Rep. Bill Huizenga; State Senate: District 24-Doug Wozniak; District 26-Matt Bierlein; District 32-Kim Cole; District 34-Senator Roger Hauck; District 34-Senator Jason Tunney; State House: District 13-Casey Armitage; District 36-Rep. Stephen Carra; District 37-Rep. Brad Paquette; District 39-Rep. Pauline Wendzel; District 67-Rep.Phil Green; District 85-Rep. Bradley Slagh; District 88-Rep. Greg VanWoerkom.
Missouri: U.S. House: CD-2: Rep Ann Wagner; CD-3: Rep Bob Onder; CD-4: Rep. Mark Alford; CD-5: Rick Brattin; CD-7: Rep Eric W. Burlison; State Senate: District 20-Senator Curtis Trent; District 22-Senator Jill Carter; District 6—Rep. Michael Davis; District 62-Bruce Sassmann; District 97-Rep. David Casteel; District 106-Rep. Travis Wllson; District 108-Mike Costlow; District 138-Rep. Burton Whaley; District 139-Rep. Bob Titus; District 140-Rep. Jamie Gragg; District 144-Rep.Tony Harbison; District 145-Rep. Tony Harbison; District 140-Rep.Bryant Wolfin; District 140-Rep. Jeffrey Shawan; District 154-Rep..Lisa Durnell.
Virginia: U.S. House: CD-5-Rep. John McGuire
Washington: U.S. House: CD-3 – John Braun; CD-5 – Representative Michael Baumgartner. State Senate: District 7-Senator Shelly Short; House: District 02 – Pos. 2-Rep. Matt Marshall; District 04-Pos.2-Rep. Rob Chase; District 12-Pos.2-Rep. Mike Steele; District 17-Pos.1-Rep. Kevin Waters; District 19-Pos.2-Rep. Joel McEntire; District 25 -Pos.1-Rep. Michael Keaton; District 25-Pos.1-Rep. Cyndy Jacobsen; District 35-Pos.1-Rep. Dan Griffey; District 39-Pos. 1-Rep. Sam Low; District 39-Pos. 2 Rep. Robert J. Sutherland
Primary election – August 6
Tennessee: Governor: Marsha Blackburn; U.S. House: CD-4: Rep. Scott DesJarlais; CD-5: Rep. Andy Ogles; State Senate: District 01-Senator J. Adam Lowe; District 03-Senator Rusty Crowe; District 07-Senator Richard M. Briggs; District 17-Senator Mark Pody; State House: District 01-Rep. John K Crawford; District 11-Kenny Cody; District 18-Rep. Elaine Davis; District 23-Rep. Mark Cochran; District 27-Rep. Michele Reneau; District 31-Andy (Andrew) J. Swafford; District 36-Rep. Dennis Powers; District 43-Rep. Paul Sherrell; District 44-Rep.William Lamberth; District 65-Rep. Lee Reeves; District 92-Rep. Todd Warner; District 99-Rep. Tom Leatherwood.
Hawaii: there are primary elections on August 8, but there are no candidate endorsements.
