ThinkingAfield.org

Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Gun Owners Foundation (GOF), alongside Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) and 2A journalist John Crump, have petitioned the Virginia Supreme Court for an urgent ruling in their lawsuit challenging Virginia’s upcoming ban on “assault firearms” and “large capacity ammunition feeding devices.” The petition requests that a decision be made on the plaintiffs’ pending motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in advance of the ban’s July 1, 2026 effective date.

This petition to Virginia’s high court comes one month after GOA’s coalition of plaintiffs filed suit in the Circuit Court for Lancaster County, in Crump v. Katz. Within days of challenging Virginia’s unconstitutional ban on commonly owned firearms and magazines, the Crump plaintiffs filed their currently pending motion to preliminarily block enforcement of the ban for the duration of their lawsuit.

However, in a disappointing move by the Lancaster court, the court indefinitely paused the Crump plaintiffs’ challenge by staying the case – taking a hearing on the Crump plaintiffs’ motion off its calendar – because the state government has filed a request to have the Crump case consolidated with other legal challenges to the ban that have been filed in other Virginia counties.

Of course, constitutional rights cannot wait. That is why GOA and the Crump plaintiffs have petitioned the Virginia Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to compel the Lancaster court to decide their motion on an emergency basis. In the alternative, the Crump plaintiffs request that the Virginia Supreme Court preliminarily enjoin enforcement of the gun ban itself. Read more

Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed its opening brief with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Ziegenfuss v. Martin, challenging Texas’s carry bans in numerous ordinary public places following the district court’s misguided opinion upholding the bans.

The plaintiffs include FPC and FPC members. The plaintiffs are represented by Bradley A. Benbrook, Stephen M. Duvernay, and Jamie G. McWilliam of Benbrook Law Group, P.C. as well as R. Brent Cooper of Cooper & Scully, P.C.

The brief was filed at the federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Fifth Circuit has jurisdiction of appeals from federal district courts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

FPC’s opening brief was filed on June 15, 2026.

Texas bans the carrying of firearms in businesses where alcohol comprises 51% or more of sales, at racetracks, and at sporting events. Under the Second Amendment’s text and our Nation’s historical tradition, these locations cannot be treated as so-called “sensitive places.” FPC filed this appeal to end enforcement of these unconstitutional carry bans and continue building on its track record of victories protecting the right to bear arms throughout the United States.

“The Second Amendment cannot be redlined out of existence through laws that are incompatible with the Constitution’s text and our Nation’s history. But that is exactly what Texas is trying to do here. Under binding Supreme Court precedent, Texas cannot criminalize carrying firearms in ordinary places people visit every day, like restaurants, sporting events, and racetracks. Our brief explains why the Fifth Circuit should reverse the trial court’s misguided decision and order these unconstitutional carry bans struck down. We will proudly continue to Fight Forward until every state—whether led by Republicans, Democrats, or anyone else—fully respects the rights of its residents.” — FPC President Brandon Combs. Read more