By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New— California: AB1948: Good News for CCW Holders; Connecticut:On March 11, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing on more anti-Second Amendment bills; Colorado: SB26-043 will be before the House State, Civic, Military and Veterans Committee on March 16; Georgia: SB499 has passed the Senate and is now in the House; Iowa: HF 621 must pass the House before the crossover date or it is dead for the session; Kansas: Two pro-gun bills have been combined into HB2501; Kentucky: HB78, strengthening protections from lawsuits for the firearms industry, is on the move; Maryland: Hearings on anti-Second Amendment bills this past week: Minnesota: The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee held a hearing on Friday, March 13 on gun bans; New Hampshire: A bill to make the Right to Hunt and Fish a constitutional right is moving; Oregon: On March 5, the Senate passed a bill implementing BM114 with an implementation date of Jan. 1, 2028; South Carolina: Beaufort County Ordinance: proposal postponed: Tennessee: SB0350, trying to pass before adjournment; Virginia: 5 anti-Second Amendment bills have passed the legislature before the March 14 adjournment; West Virginia: legislature adjourned on March 14 – HB4106, which allows constitutional carry for 18- to 20-year-olds, and HB 4169, which restored firearm rights after mental-health prohibitions were passed and sent to Gov. Patric Morrissey; Wyoming: Governor Mark Gordon recently signed three Second Amendment bills into law.
State Legislatures
All state legislatures except Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas are in session in 2026.
California: AB1948: Good News for CCW Holders
A CRPA-led effort to extend the life of CCW license renewals has new life in Sacramento with Assembly Bill 1948. Introduced by Assemblymembers James Ramos and Avelino Valencia, AB1948 would extend the life of CCWs from 2 years to 3 years, with additional provisions for law enforcement.
Colorado: Under Democratic leadership, this state is turning into the Rocky Mountain version of New York. SB26-043 will be before the House State, Civic, Military, and Veterans Committee on March 16. This bill imposes additional clerical burdens on states’ FFLs, effectively establishing a permanent registry of firearm owners.
Connecticut: On March 11, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing to review two anti-Second Amendment bills:
- HB 5043, Ned Lamont’s requested Governor’s bill, aims to ban so-called “convertible pistols.” It is already illegal to convert firearms into fully automatic weapons. However, this legislation defines a “convertible pistol” in a way that would classify an entire category of commonly owned firearms as illegal, making their possession a Class D Felony.
- HB 5436 redefines basic firearm parts such as barrels, slides, cylinders, frames, and receivers as complete firearms. This would establish regulations on storage, sale, transfer, and more, applying to common parts as well as complete firearms.
Georgia: SB499, which removes firearm suppressors from the list of dangerous weapons, has passed the Senate and is now in the House.
Iowa: The deadline for bills to pass their house of origin in next week. HF 621 allows individuals to lawfully conceal carry in their vehicle while picking up or dropping off someone at a school or while making a delivery, but it must pass the House before that critical date, or it is dead for the session.
Kansas: Two pro-gun bills have been combined into HB2501. SB503, which originally removed suppressors and short-barreled rifles from the Kansas controlled weapons list, was added to HB2501, which grants immunity from civil liability to Kansas FFLs when they return a firearm to its owner at the end of a “firearm hold agreement.”
Kentucky: HB78, which strengthens protections from lawsuits for the firearms industry, passed the Judiciary Committee on March 11 and is now before the Rules Committee. The bill is awaiting action in the full Senate.
Louisiana: The 2026 legislative session began on March 9.
Maryland: Hearings on anti-Second Amendment bills this past week:
- March 11: The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee held a hearing without prior notice. The bill before the committee was SB118, legislation that would impose an 11% excise tax on firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition.
- March 13: HB1608, which would require firearms, loaded or unloaded, to be locked in expensive “fire, impact, and tamper-resistant” storage containers whenever they are not under the owner’s direct control.
Neither of these bills has been voted on.
Minnesota: Over the past few days, the main legislative activity related to the Second Amendment has been Senate committee discussions on banning assault-style weapons and magazines, along with a broader package of gun and “school safety” bills. Capitol‑carry and other control measures are scheduled for or currently undergoing hearings.
Key actions in the last week
The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee hearing on Friday, March 13, advanced a ban on “assault‑style” weapons and high‑capacity magazines, with 14 of 17 gun and school‑safety–related bills moving forward on a 6–3 party‑line vote.
Bills under consideration
SF3631 / HF3357: (Capitol complex carry ban), and related “ghost gun” and serialization bills
HF3433 / HF3434: Previously heard in House Public Safety (Feb. 24), but continue to frame Senate action; advocates treat them plus SF 3655/SF 3681 as the core “semi‑auto and mag bans” being advanced.
SF4290 / HF4081: However, these bills, which outlaw so-called assault weapons and ban “high capacity” magazines, have unique requirements. You must register these firearms, and then to keep them in your home, you must give the police the right to inspect your home without a warrant. Thus, these laws deny you of your Fourth Amendment rights.
New Hampshire: HB1793, the state’s 2026 “campus carry” bill, has passed the state House and is now awaiting action in the Senate. This bill bans public colleges and universities from creating or enforcing policies that restrict the possession, carry, storage, or lawful use of firearms or non-lethal weapons (e.g., pepper spray, tasers, stun guns) on campus.
- As expected from liberal higher education institutions, New Hampshire’s public higher‑ed leadership and campus communities are actively resisting HB 1793, both officially and through public advocacy.
Constitutional amendment
- A bill to make the Right to Hunt and Fish a constitutional right, CACR15, will be considered by the House floor shortly.
Oregon: On March 5, the Senate approved an amended HB4145, now enacted as HB 4145 B, with a new implementation date set for Jan. 1, 2028. It was the only anti-Second Amendment bill that passed as the legislature adjourned sine die on March 6.
South Carolina: Beaufort County Ordinance
On March 9, a proposed ordinance to regulate firearm discharges, which would establish a 500-foot distance from any building, dwelling, park, or playground, was introduced to the Beaufort County Council. This ordinance creates an impractical standard for the responsible discharge of firearms during lawful use.
- According to the County’s official “Highlights and Actions” for the March Council caucus and meeting, “Council voted unanimously to postpone this until after a scheduled meeting with various stakeholders, including County Council members, 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone, and Beaufort County Sheriff PJ Tanner.”
Tennessee: SB0350, which prohibits a landlord from banning a tenant from lawfully possessing, carrying, transporting, or storing a firearm, firearm components, or ammunition on leased premises or in a vehicle on leased premises; establishes a cause of action for tenants adversely affected by a landlord’s violation of this prohibition, was passed on 3/9. The companion bill HB0469 was placed on the Senate Message Calendar for 3/12/2036 and was unanimously concurred. This should conclude action on this bill, and it is now ready to proceed to Governor Bill Lee.
Virginia: Several major gun-control (and thus anti–Second Amendment–type) bills advanced or received final passage in Richmond over the past week, with the marquee item being HB749, an assault‑firearms ban, now on Governor Spanberger’s desk. Other bills that received final passage are SB727, SB27, HB21, and HB40.
- SB 727: Bans carrying or transporting defined “assault firearms” (certain semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns) in most public areas in the Commonwealth, with violations treated as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
- SB 27: Imposes “standards of responsible conduct” on firearm industry members and establishes broad civil liability, permitting lawsuits against manufacturers, distributors, and dealers for alleged failures to implement “reasonable controls” over their products.
HB 21: Sets similar “responsible conduct” standards for firearm industry members in the Virginia Code and authorizes civil actions by the Attorney General, local governments, and private parties for alleged violations of these standards.
HB 40: Prohibits the manufacture, transfer, and possession of unserialized or “ghost” guns and certain non-metal or plastic firearms, effectively ending home-built, non-serialized firearms for lawful personal use in Virginia.
West Virginia: The legislature adjourned on March 14, but not before passing both HB 4169, which restored firearm rights after mental-health prohibitions had already been lifted, and HB 4106, allowing constitutional carry for 18- to 20-year-olds.
Wyoming: This session was very successful for pro-Second Amendment supporters, as Governor Mark Gordon recently signed three bills into law: HB 39, which enhances the state’s statutes for restoring gun rights; HB 96, which broadens carry permits and campus carry rights to include 18-20 year olds; and HB 98, which reaffirms the existing law banning red flag laws.
