Episodes
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This week, we're taking a close look at the state of the NRA.
The nation's largest gun-rights group is not nearly as large as it was half a decade ago. President Donald Trump just bailed on its conference. However, its civil corruption suit is now over, and its latest board election is in the books.
To give us a detailed view of where the NRA is at today, we've got freelance reporter John Petrolino on the show. John often writes for Shooting News Weekly and Bearing Arms. He recently did a great breakdown of the NRA election for the latter.
John said the reformers, who now go by NRA 2.0, won a sizeable victory and should have a significant majority headed into next weekend's NRA Annual Meeting. Other longtime board members and defenders of former CEO Wayne LaPierre, many of whom are now part of what's called Strong NRA, did not fare as well. But John noted those who didn't run under the banner of either group did the worst of all.
He also said some prominent board members, like New York State Rifle and Pistol Association president Tom King, lost their bids. John said he was a bit surprised by some of the results, but he believes the board's partisanship may not last. He said both sides have made calls for unity, however hard that might end up being. Special Guest: John Petrolino. -
Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I cover the latest updates in the shooting at Florida State University, including the early response from President Donald Trump. We also talk about Trump's decision to skip the NRA's annual meeting for the first time since 2015 and what it says about the group's current influence. Finally, we discuss a new federal appeals court ruling upholding Massachusetts' ban on AR-15s and ammunition magazines as well as a new Montana bill cracking down on red flag laws.
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Episodes manquant?
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This week, we're taking a close look at the state of the gun industry and the potential impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs.
That's why I'm interviewing the head of the gun industry's trade group. National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) general counsel Larry Keane is back on the show to detail where the industry is at today and where it's headed. Perhaps the biggest question to answer is what tariffs will do to domestic and foreign firearms companies.
Keane said tariffs, even the reduced levels of the latest "pause," are likely to drive up costs for gun and ammo makers. He said importers are likely to be hit the hardest, but domestic manufacturers aren't immune from increased raw material costs either. He said NSSF is waiting to see exactly how things shake out and it expects some of its members will face steep challenges from the tariffs while others may end up benefiting from them.
He also said he's hopeful the tariffs are just a negotiating tactic on the part of President Trump and believes they could lead to something positive for the industry. Keane noted NSSF's latest report shows strong long-term growth among gun businesses. Although, he did admit sales have been down recently and demand could remain relatively soft in the short term.
Get a 30-day free trial for a subscription to The Dispatch here: https://thedispatch.com/join-offer-reload/?utmsource=thereload&utmmedium=partnerships-podcast&utm_campaign=0125 Special Guest: Larry Keane. -
Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss Colorado Governor Jared Polis signing the most sweeping and restrictive gun bill in the state's history into law and what that says about gun politics in the Democratic Party. We also talk about major new developments at the ATF, both in terms of potential gun policy changes, as well as the announced shakeup in the top two leadership positions of the agency. We also share new insights from members of the gun industry about what President Trump's tariff plans will mean for gun and ammunition prices going forward.
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This week, we're doing a deep dive into the history surrounding Americans under 21 buying guns.
That's why we've got gun-rights lawyer Alan Beck on the show. He's currently representing a client who is fighting Hawaii's age restrictions. In the wake of the Eleventh Circuit upholding Florida's gun sales ban for those under 21 by pointing to how contract law limited the same age group's ability to buy guns, he researched the question.
He argues the evidence contradicts the Eleventh Circuit's holding. He said rulings from the Founding Era suggest those under 21 couldn't enter into contracts for things that weren't necessities, but that was actually a pretty broad exception. He said most guns would have been considered necessities because they were needed to hunt, perform mandated militia service, and provide for general security.
Beck also gave a working-lawyers view of the Supreme Court's Second Amendment jurisprudence and where it's headed. He described the details of his latest case at the High Court and what the cert application process is like. Special Guest: Alan Beck. -
Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss the potential fallout from President Trump's sweeping tariff announcement on the gun and ammunition market. We talk about why the potential cost increases come at a precarious time for an industry already facing some headwinds, including another month of declining gun sales based on newly released figures. Plus, we discuss a pair of opposite rulings in state courts in Pennsylvania and Illinois dealing with the question of whether major gun companies can be sued for crimes committed by third parties with their products.
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This week, we're taking a close look at the Supreme Court's ruling in Bondi v. VanDerStok.
To do that, we have the Independence Institute's David Kopel on the show. Kopel has written extensively on gun policy and been cited repeatedly at the Supreme Court. So, there are few people better qualified to dissect what the VanDerStok ruling means.
Kopel argued the decision upholding the ATF's "ghost gun" kit ban is relatively narrow, but still likely applies to more than just the Polymer80 "buy build shoot" kits discussed at length by the majority. He also explained why the majority decided the case as a facial challenge and why he, along with Justices Thomas and Alito, disagrees with the use of that standard.
He said the Trump Administration could have tried to intervene in this case, but didn't move fast enough. However, he argued that it can still try to undo the rule despite the decision. Kopel also gave his view on where the balance of the court lies on gun issues and whether there's a reliable way to read what they might do with other pending gun cases.
Get a 30-day free trial for a subscription to The Dispatch here: https://thedispatch.com/join-offer-reload/?utmsource=thereload&utmmedium=partnerships-podcast&utm_campaign=0125 Special Guest: David Kopel. -
Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I talk about the Supreme Court's 7-2 decision to uphold the ATF's ability to treat unfinished firearms parts kits as completed guns and what that means moving forward. We also talk about the new financial troubles hitting the gun-control group March for Our Lives. Finally, we cover an outlier federal ruling on New York City's stun gun ban before highlighting DOJ's plans for the ATF and investigation into California's gun-carry permitting.
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This week, we're looking at a few actions the Trump Administration just took on gun policy.
To wade through those moves and navigate where the signs point, we've got Cam Edwards of Bearing Arms back on the show. We look at different stories from Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). As Cam noted, some were bigger deals than others.
First, HHS deleted a Biden-era report calling for new gun restrictions--like an "assault weapons" ban--from its website. Cam said that move was one well within the President's authority. He said that while the action arrived at a comparatively slow pace to some of the other things the Trump Administration is doing, it mirrored what it did in shutting down the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention and could signal more is coming in the short term.
Then there is the first rule related to guns from the new administration. The DOJ published a plan to restart the gun rights restoration process. Cam said it was more of a plan to make a plan, but he argued it was another strong sign the administration plans to follow through on promised gun rulemaking.
The final development points in the same direction and may be the strongest indicator of what's to come, according to Cam. That's the appointment of Robert Leider as the new ATF Chief Counsel. Cam argued that Leider, a Second Amendment scholar and gun-rights advocate, will likely put his expertise to use to help enact numerous pro-gun reforms.
Get a 30-day free trial for a subscription to The Dispatch here: https://thedispatch.com/join-offer-reload/?utmsource=thereload&utmmedium=partnerships-podcast&utm_campaign=0125 Special Guest: Cam Edwards. -
Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I recap the en banc Ninth Circuit's newest decision upholding California's ban on magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds and its much-discussed video dissent from Judge Lawrence VanDyke. We also talk about a separate Ninth Circuit panel's ruling striking down Hawaii's unique restrictions on handgun sales. Finally, we cover a long awaited en banc Eleventh Circuit decision dealing with Florida's post-Parkland ban on gun sales to adults under the age of 21.
Get a 30-day free trial for a subscription to The Dispatch here: https://thedispatch.com/join-offer-reload/?utmsource=thereload&utmmedium=partnerships-podcast&utm_campaign=0125 Special Guest: Mike Willever. -
We've been highlighting the fact that The New York Times, the largest paper in the country, has finally hired a gun-beat reporter. So, this week, we invited him on the show to talk about his approach and goals.
Reporter Thomas Gibbons-Neff has started consistently doing gun stories for The Grey Lady, as The Times has long been known. It's not his first assignment. I also wouldn't call it his most challenging since he went from active-duty service in Afghanistan to covering it and, later, the war in Ukraine.
Still, as Gibbons-Neff readily admits, covering guns in America for a paper like The Times is not without its own challenges. One of the things he has to navigate in order to find sources is The Times' reputation, especially given its aggressive editorial stance in favor of new gun restrictions and bans.
But he agreed his background and continual focus on firearms should help him produce better stories than many in the gun world might expect. And he said he's going to work to earn the gun-owning community's trust that he'll be fair, mainly by demonstrating it in the pieces he publishes.
Get a 30-day free trial for a subscription to The Dispatch here: https://thedispatch.com/join-offer-reload/?utmsource=thereload&utmmedium=partnerships-podcast&utm_campaign=0125 Special Guest: Thomas Gibbons-Neff. -
Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I talk about a ruling out of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals that found short-barreled rifles aren't "arms" as considered by the Second Amendment. We also talk about a pair of state court rulings, one out of Oregon upholding the state's purchase permit requirements and magazine ban, and another out Massachusetts that upheld the state's requirement that out-of-state visitors get a special permit before bringing their guns into the state. Plus, I talk with Idaho Senator Mike Crapo (R.) about the Hearing Protection Act and his views on the GOP's plans for gun policy in Congress.
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This week, we've got a longer episode than usual.
That's because we're doing a deep dive into oral arguments for the Supreme Court's latest gun case, Smith & Wesson v. Mexico. Most observers, including me, thought Mexico faired poorly in its attempt to move forward with liability claims against American gunmakers over cartel violence south of the border. However, Professor Dru Stevenson, who studies gun policy at Southern Texas College of Law, had a bit of a different take.
So, I wanted to have him on the show to go through why he thought the justices may be more sympathetic toward Mexico's claims than most other people thought. While he still believes Mexico's suit is unlikely to make it through the Supreme Court unscathed, Stevenson argued the justices might allow part of it to proceed. And, even if not, he said The Court may end up laying out what amounts to a framework for how to successfully pierce gun industry liability protections in future suits.
Get a 30-day free trial for a subscription to The Dispatch here: https://thedispatch.com/join-offer-reload/?utmsource=thereload&utmmedium=partnerships-podcast&utm_campaign=0125 Special Guest: Dru Stevenson. -
Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I break down the latest national gun sales data for February and discuss why they suggest trouble ahead for the gun industry. We also talk about Trump's latest omission of his gun policy priorities in a major public address, this time in his first joint address to Congress. Finally, we briefly recap this week's Supreme Court oral arguments in Mexico's lawsuit against Smith and Wesson that seeks to hold the company financially responsible for cartel violence across the southern border.
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This week, we're looking at the first-of-its-kind move to make the FBI Director the Acting Director of the ATF.
To do that, we've got Reason Magazine's J.D. Tuccille back on the show. He recently wrote about what Kash Patel's appointment might mean for the gun agency.
He argued it could send a signal the administration plans to merge the two law enforcement arms, if not officially, at least effectively. Tuccille said the move has the potential to reign in some of the worst excesses of the ATF by eliminating its singular focus on gun law enforcement. But, he noted, it could also backfire on gun owners given the FBI's reputation for aggressive enforcement, even over-aggressive at times.
Then there's Kash Patel himself. He has received strong backing from gun-rights groups, who hope he'll wipe out the gun restrictions and zero-tolerance approach, as well as the officials who implemented them. However, Tuccille said his history of comments promising retribution against his and President Trump's opponents in government and media raise concerns about how he might wield his expansive new power over federal law enforcement.
Get a 30-day free trial for a subscription to The Dispatch here: https://thedispatch.com/join-offer-reload/?utmsource=thereload&utmmedium=partnerships-podcast&utm_campaign=0125 Special Guest: JD Tuccille. -
Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I cover the Supreme Court's latest remand of a case concerning whether convicted felons have any Second Amendment rights. We also discuss major gun manufacturer Daniel Defense's decision to wade into the ongoing efforts to reform the NRA through board elections. We then briefly touch on the Trump administration's decision to tap Kash Patel as acting ATF director before wrapping up with a round up of stories from outside the Reload.
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This week, we're taking a closer look at how the Trump DOJ might change its approach to gun litigation.
We've got Andrew Willinger of Duke University's Firearms Law Center on the show to give us a different perspective from the one we got last week. He argued the administration is likely to move to reverse a lot of the Biden-era ATF rules currently tied up in court. Although, he said it might not do anything on the "ghost gun" rule currently waiting on a Supreme Court decision.
He argued areas where President Trump's other commitments conflict with gun-rights priorities, the latter may take a back seat. He said Trump may prioritize going after gang members who use homemade guns over protecting collectors who like to build their own firearms. Similarly, while his own non-violent felony convictions may inform the DOJ's approach to Second Amendment challenges against the lifetime ban for those offenses, his hardline rhetorical approach to drug crimes may lead the DOJ to argue in favor of that gun prohibition.
Get a 30-day free trial for a subscription to The Dispatch here: https://thedispatch.com/join-offer-reload/?utmsource=thereload&utmmedium=partnerships-podcast&utm_campaign=0125 Special Guest: Andrew Willinger. -
Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I cover the Trump administration's current freeze on processing new export licenses and how it is hitting the firearms industry particularly hard. We also talk about a federal judge issuing a preliminary injunction against Maine's 72-hour waiting period for gun sales, an Arizona state judge tossing a local gun control ordinance under preemption, and we wrap up with some headlines from outside The Reload.
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President Donald Trump issued an executive order that reviews federal gun policy with the aim of implementing some changes.
However, it's unclear exactly what changes might come from the order. So, we've got Second Amendment scholar David Kopel on the show to try and give some clarity to what's possible.
Kopel walks through each section of the order and explains what kind of actions they could lead to. He notes the ATF rules are likely to be an area of emphasis and one that may have the biggest practical impact. Similarly, the rollback of the ATF's "zero tolerance" enforcement policy for gun dealers could be significant and happen much faster.
He also explained how the order could lead to the Department of Justice changing its stance in Second Amendment litigation or reclassifying certain guns to make them easier to import. He said it could also do smaller things like revoke and respond to reports from the seemingly defunct White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
Get a 30-day free trial for a subscription to The Dispatch here: https://thedispatch.com/join-offer-reload/?utmsource=thereload&utmmedium=partnerships-podcast&utm_campaign=0125 Special Guest: David Kopel. -
Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss a ruling out of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals where a panel once again decided that a single mother who wrote a bad check 17 years ago can be disarmed for life. We also discuss a Trump-appointed judge out of Hawaii who ruled that the Aloha state can continue to deny adults under the age of 21 access to firearms. Finally, we wrap up with coverage of an Illinois state court ruling against the state's FOID card law, Trump's Second Amendment executive order, and some quick hits from around the country.
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