WASHINGTON, D.C. – Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) today announced its strong opposition to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) recently proposed merger of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The DOJ’s dangerous proposal would consolidate the ATF and DEA into an authoritarian “super-agency” with the combined powers to wage the failed war on drugs and enforce unconstitutional federal gun control laws against all Americans, not just violent criminals and drug cartels. By merging the ATF’s firearms enforcement authority into the DEA, the DOJ is effectively equating peaceable American gun owners with drug cartels, turning millions of law-abiding citizens—as well as their constitutionally protected weapons—into co-equal targets of a militarized federal enforcement regime.

FPC has provided many proposed reforms to the White House, DOJ, and ATF, all of which would improve the lives of law-abiding Americans as well as access to rights and instruments protected by the Constitution. Rather than creating massive new problems for gun owners, the DOJ should instead focus on implementing these proposed reforms, stop engaging in anti-Second Amendment litigation and prosecutions, and support important Second Amendment challenges in the courts, especially the United States Supreme Court.

“We absolutely support the repeal of the unconstitutional federal gun control laws that underpin the ATF’s existence. Read more

BELLEVUE, Wash. —— In a unanimous decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of SAF and its partners in Nguyen v. Bonta, SAF’s challenge to California’s one-gun-per-month gun rationing law.

SAF is joined in the case by the Firearms Policy Coalition, Inc., and San Diego County Gun Owners PAC, two FFL gun dealers, and six private citizens including Michelle Nguyen, for whom the case is named.

“Today’s decision claws back a portion of Second Amendment rights stolen by California’s government,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “California’s one-gun-per-month law was in clear violation of the Second Amendment, as affirmed by the unanimous decision in the Ninth Circuit. This ruling is one step closer to liberating the people of the state from the totalitarian ideals of those in power who believe the right to keep and bear arms is a second-class right.” Read more

In a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), along with its partners, helps set the record straight regarding the removal of suppressors and short-barreled firearms from the National Firearms Act (NFA).

The letter reminds leadership that if removed from the NFA, suppressors and short-barreled firearms would still be considered firearms under the Gun Control Act for purposes of manufacture, sale and purchase. In short, purchasers would still be required to pass a background check just like when buying any other firearm from a Federal Firearms Licensee.

“The removal of silencers and short-barreled firearms from the National Firearms Act would allow peaceable citizens across the nation to exercise their full Second Amendment rights without the hindrance of an unconstitutional tax and waiting times,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “The name silencer is a bit of a misnomer because they merely lower the decibel level to a safer threshold but don’t eliminate the noise. Studies have shown that combining hearing protection along with a silencer when shooting significantly reduces the risk of hearing loss, making for a safer experience.”

As noted in the letter: “…the [National Hearing Conservation Association] and the Academy of Doctors of Audiology support the removal of the tax on suppressors as a method to improve access to these hearing safety devices.” Read more

BATON ROUGE, La. – Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced that Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has signed FPC-supported House Bill 407, which repeals residency restrictions and expands access to the right to bear arms in the state. HB 407 is a legislative response to an FPC right-to-carry lawsuit, Mate v. Wescott, that was filed as part of FPC’s work to eliminate unconstitutional residency requirements throughout the United States.

“On behalf of our members, we thank Rep. Ventrella for her leadership on this important issue and Gov. Landry for signing this bill into law,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “We are thrilled that Louisiana has made this critical change to improve access to the right to bear arms. We and our members are working to unlock the right to carry throughout the United States, and this bill helps do just that.

“Now it’s time for Congress to fix and pass H.R. 38 so that all Americans can exercise their right to bear arms without fear of arrest and prosecution.” Read more

Gun Owners of America (GOA) is calling on Congress to stand firm in support of Section 70436 of H.R. 1—the “One Big Beautiful Bill”—which would fully repeal the unconstitutional excise taxes on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and any other weapons under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA).

GOA is demanding that lawmakers preserve Section 70436 and adhere to their Independence Day deadline to pass this legislation and deliver a historic win for the Second Amendment.

GOA will continue working with congressional allies and mobilizing grassroots support to ensure this key section remains intact and becomes law.

Sam Paredes, Gun Owners of America Board Member, issued the following statement: “July 4th is the perfect day to strike down the tyranny of the NFA’s unconstitutional tax scheme. This represents a long-overdue restoration of rights that never should have been taken away in the first place. Congress must not cave or delay. Gun owners expect action—and GOA will hold accountable any lawmaker who tries to gut this historic provision.” Read more

Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has withdrawn the flawed 3-judge panel opinion in United States v. George Peterson, an FPC-backed criminal case challenging the federal government’s regulation of suppressors through unconstitutional registration and taxation requirements.

“It’s clear that the Fifth Circuit is taking another look at this important issue in light of the excellent arguments our attorneys have made in Mr. Peterson’s appeal,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “We hope the full Fifth Circuit will now rehear the case and confirm that suppressors are protected arms under the Second Amendment. Read more

Attorneys for George Peterson have filed a brief in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals responding to the federal government’s latest filing in United States v. George Peterson, an FPC-backed criminal case challenging the federal government’s regulation of suppressors through unconstitutional registration and taxation requirements.

“The Government’s letter brief only underscores why this Court should rehear this case en banc, as the Government now admits that suppressors are protected by the plain text of the Second Amendment,” says Mr. Peterson’s brief. “And while the Government argues that application of the National Firearms Act’s (‘NFA’s’) taxation-and-registration scheme to suppressors nonetheless is consistent with the Second Amendment, its arguments lack merit.”

Ultimately, the brief argues, “as Heller and Bruen establish, all arms that are in common use for lawful purposes are protected, full stop. And applying that test, suppressors fit the bill.” FPC strongly agrees. Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced the filing of an important Supreme Court brief in the case of Melynda Vincent v. Attorney General Pam Bondi, a challenge to the federal lifetime ban on the exercise of the right to keep and bear arms for nonviolent felons. FPC is joined by FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF), the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), and the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) as parties to the brief, authored by attorneys Joseph G.S. Greenlee and Erin M. Erhardt of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action.

An “analysis of the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation shows that there is no tradition that supports disarming peaceable persons” like Vincent, the brief argues. Indeed, it goes on, “[h]istorically, no individual was disarmed because the law he violated was classified as a felony. Moreover, upon completing their sentences, offenders not only had full access to their Second Amendment protected rights, but able-bodied males were required to keep and bear arms under the state and federal militia acts.”

“This powerful brief highlights why the Supreme Court should take up this case and settle this issue once and for all by holding that non-violent people cannot be disarmed for life,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. Read more

BELLEVUE, Wash. —— The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed their brief with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in SAF’s challenge to Illinois’ assault weapons and magazine capacity bans.

SAF is joined in Harrel v. Raoul by the Illinois State Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, C4 Gun Store, Marengo Guns and Dane Harrel, for whom the lawsuit is named.

The case challenges the constitutionality of the Illinois assault weapons and magazine capacity bans, on the grounds that both modern semiautomatic rifles, and the standard capacity magazines that feed them, are overwhelmingly in common use for lawful purposes, including self-defense. Twice now, the District Court has agreed and ruled in SAF’s favor, first in granting a preliminary injunction, and then on the merits on remand. With a full trial record now before it, the Seventh Circuit has a second opportunity to properly apply the Heller/Bruen test and leave these Illinois statutes in the wastebin of history. Read more