ThinkingAfield.org

With the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBB), which eliminates the excise tax on silencers and short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns and “Any Other Weapons,” or AOWs, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have issued a joint statement indicating their intention to challenge the remaining registration requirements for the affected arms under the National Firearms Act (NFA) as unconstitutional.

“The NFA is nothing more than a tax scheme which has imposed an unconstitutional burden on Americans since 1934,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “The registration of these items was only justified as the means to ensure taxes on them had been paid. With the One Big, Beautiful Bill zeroing out the tax for silencers and short barreled firearms, the registration scheme serves no other purpose than to create an unlawful barrier to keep people from exercising their Second Amendment rights. Our intention with this new lawsuit is to completely remove these barriers.” Read more

Tuesday afternoon, Federal District Court Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo issued an order granting final summary judgment to Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and its co-plaintiffs, three individual members of the organization who reside outside of California, in Hoffman v. Bonta, FPC’s Second Amendment challenge to the State’s ban on firearm carry by non-residents.

“This important judgment means that people must maintain their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms when they cross California’s border. Just as people are free to speak or worship in states they don’t reside in, this win makes clear they are likewise free to bear arms for lawful purposes throughout the United States,” explained FPC President Brandon Combs. “Unlike Louisiana, which recently repealed their unconstitutional residency requirement following an FPC legal challenge, California’s commitment to tyranny forced us to take this case to a final judgment. FPC will continue to eliminate unconstitutional residency requirements and other bans so that people can exercise their rights when, where, and how they choose.”

This FPC victory and others like it are especially important because the only way that most people can lawfully carry within 1,000 feet of schools is to possess a valid carry license issued by the exact state in which the person is carrying.

Today’s Hoffman judgment adds to FPC’s win column against the Golden State, including the first-ever trial judgment against a ban on so-called “assault weapons” as well as the recent Ninth Circuit victory affirming a trial court ruling that struck down California’s “1-in-30” gun purchase ban. Read more