Episodios

  • Gun Groups Sue Over Remaining NFA Restrictions; Canada Confiscation Effort Flails

    Gun Groups Sue Over Remaining NFA Restrictions; Canada Confiscation Effort Flails
    Jul 10 2025
    Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I break down a new lawsuit filed by gun rights advocates in the aftermath of the One Big Beautiful Bill that argues NFA restrictions are no longer lawful without its $200 tax. We also talk about Canada's ongoing difficulties in carrying out its now 5-year-old plan to confiscate semi-automatic firearms, as well as Colorado lawsuit that pits mass shooting survivors against a Second Amendment Sanctuary county.
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    44 m
  • Examining the Silencer Tax Cut in Trump's Budget Bill (Ft. Bearing Arms' Cam Edwards)

    Examining the Silencer Tax Cut in Trump's Budget Bill (Ft. Bearing Arms' Cam Edwards)
    Jul 7 2025
    This week, we saw a National Firearms Act tax cut make it across the finish line and into law. Silencers, short-barrel rifles and shotguns, as well as firearms in the "any other weapons" category will now see a $0 tax in place of the previous $200 one. But not everyone in the gun world is happy about that. So, we have Cam Edwards of Bearing Arms back on the show to work through what the text does, why it ended up the way it did, and whether gun owners should consider it a win. Cam noted the final text is not everything gun-rights activists had pushed for since the Senate Parliamentarian ruled full delisting was against the rules of budget reconciliation. He said he disagreed with the ruling and could understand why some gun-rights activists unsuccessfully pushed to fire or overrule her. However, he also said it was important to understand the politics of the situation in order not to be caught off guard by either one of those reasonably predictable outcomes. Despite arguments to the contrary, Cam said the law should still be viewed as a win for gun owners. Perhaps an imperfect one, but one of the more significant at the federal level in a generation. Special Guest: Cam Edwards.
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    52 m
  • Congress Nears Passage of Silencer, SBR Tax Cut; DOJ Lets Under-21 Handgun Ruling Stand

    Congress Nears Passage of Silencer, SBR Tax Cut; DOJ Lets Under-21 Handgun Ruling Stand
    Jul 3 2025
    Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I provide an update on the status of Congress' cuts to the NFA tax for silencers and short-barrelled firearms as the bill gets close to passage. We also unpack the Department of Justice's decision not to appeal a Fifth Circuit ruling that invalidated the federal 21-year-old age minimum for purchasing handguns from licensed dealers.
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    45 m
  • Will the Fifth Circuit Reverse Itself on Silencers? (Ft. Legal Commentator Gabriel Malor)

    Will the Fifth Circuit Reverse Itself on Silencers? (Ft. Legal Commentator Gabriel Malor)
    Jun 30 2025
    This week, we're looking into a bit of a Second Amendment legal mystery. Recently, a Fifth Circuit panel ruled silencers aren't "arms" and, therefore, don't enjoy constitutional protections. But then the Department of Justice (DOJ) changed hands and changed its mind on the case. In response, the panel took the unusual step of withdrawing its opinion. But we don't know what it plans to do next. That's why we've got federal litigator and legal commentator Gabriel Malor back on the show to give his view on what may be coming. A lot of other commentators and several gun-rights groups have taken the withdrawal as a strong sign the panel plans to reverse itself on whether silencers, often called suppressors, are arms. But Malor said that's unlikely to happen. He noted the DOJ's new position in the case doesn't actually argue silencers are arms, just that they enjoy some level of Second Amendment protection. He also said the panel thoroughly considered the arms question in its initial opinion and is unlikely to reverse, given no new facts or arguments are being presented. Malor also pointed out the panel addressed the basic argument DOJ is now backing and found it lacking, though it spent comparatively little time on that part of the case in its initial opinion. He said the panel is likely going to delve a bit deeper into the DOJ's new argument before returning the same basic ruling. Special Guest: Gabriel Malor.
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    46 m
  • Parliamentarian Purges NFA Delisting; Rhode Island Adopts AR-15 Ban

    Parliamentarian Purges NFA Delisting; Rhode Island Adopts AR-15 Ban
    Jun 27 2025
    Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I unpack the political implications of the Senate Parliamentarian's latest ruling on Republicans' attempt to deregulate suppressors and short-barreled firearms. We also cover Rhode Island becoming the latest state to adopt a ban on AR-15s and other semi-automatic rifles. Finally, we recap a pair of recent Second Amendment rulings out of the Ninth and Fourth Circuits before wrapping up with highlights from outside The Reload.
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    53 m
  • NRO's Charles Cooke on Challenge to Federal Gun Free School Zones

    NRO's Charles Cooke on Challenge to Federal Gun Free School Zones
    Jun 23 2025
    This week, we're taking a close look at the federal gun free school zones law with National Review's Charles Cooke. A federal appeals court just upheld the zones against a Second Amendment challenge for what may be the first time in the post-Bruen era. Cooke argued the law is bad policy, but he agreed it doesn't violate the Second Amendment. Instead, Cooke argued it's actually an unconstitutional expansion of the federal government's power to regulate interstate commerce. He noted the law had already been struck down by the Supreme Court over this issue once before. However, Congress passed a new version soon afterward. Cooke said the new law has the same problem the old one had. We also talked about the current push to partially repeal the National Firearms Act through budget reconciliation. Cooke again said he'd like to see repeal make it through the process, but he had doubts that delisting silencers or short-barrel shotguns can clear the Byrd Rule. He also expressed some skepticism about whether language in the bill to try and nullify state NFA mirror laws would work in practice. Special Guest: Charles Cooke.
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    58 m
  • Senate Advances Partial NFA Repeal; Gun Free School Zones Upheld

    Senate Advances Partial NFA Repeal; Gun Free School Zones Upheld
    Jun 20 2025
    Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I break down Senate Republicans' new proposal to remove everything but machineguns and destructive devices from regulation under the National Firearms Act as part of President Trump's "big beautiful bill." We discuss the upsides and pitfalls of this approach for gun-rights advocates and explain what needs to happen next for it to become law. We also cover a new ruling out of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on the federal Gun Free School Zones Act, a new DOJ brief arguing that AR-15s are protected by the Second Amendment, and emerging new details surrounding a tragic shooting at a recent protest in Salt Lake City.
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    50 m
  • Inside the Senate Silencer Deregulation Fight (ft. American Suppressor Association's Knox Williams)

    Inside the Senate Silencer Deregulation Fight (ft. American Suppressor Association's Knox Williams)
    Jun 16 2025
    This week, we're taking a deep dive into the fight over using reconciliation to delist silencers from the National Firearms Act (NFA). The House included a provision to eliminate the tax on firearm silencers/suppressors and one to completely remove them from the NFA's purview. But that wasn't without controversy, and the Senate is now taking up the bill. That's why we've got Knox Williams, the head of the American Suppressor Association, on the show to update us on where things are headed. Williams said there was a meeting between gun-rights activists and Senate staffers this week that left him confident they have a good chance of getting everything they want. He said Republicans were on board with the argument that silencers can be fully delisted because the NFA is a tax at its core. Still, there is a lot of uncertainty about how the parliamentarian will rule on the delisting. Williams agreed that the tax cut is seen as a sure bet. However, he said there's a strong chance delisting gets through, too. Special Guest: Knox Williams.
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    44 m