📧 Virginia Gun Sales Explode as AR-15 Ban Approaches
Plus, Slate Magazine's Aymann Ismail details the discrimination he found in New Jersey's gun permitting system on the podcast.
Virginia gun sales have doubled.
That’s what the latest report from a gun industry trade group indicates. The Old Dominion, which doesn’t even crack the top ten in state population, saw more rifle sales than everyone else besides the Lone Star State. So, it’s clear the “assault firearms” ban Governor Abigail Spanberger (D.) signed into law last month is driving Virginians to their local gun stores ahead of its July 1st effective date.
But the law has sparked more than just gun sales. It’s also lit a fire under some of the Commonwealth Attorneys, who’ve declared they won’t enforce the AR-15 sales ban. And now that fire is spreading, with 14 now joining ranks. And that isn’t the only success story bealeagered gun-rights activists can point to in Virginia this week, as they successfully got a state judge to clarify that his injunction against the state’s universal background check law remains in effect despite efforts by the state legislature to invalidate it.
Meanwhile, gun-rights activists elsewhere saw nothing but bad news.
As Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman explains for Reload Members, a Bruen footnote is causing real trouble for cases against federal silencer regulations in a diverse swath of federal circuits. And the next frontier in the legal fight over non-resident gun carry is looking rougher than the last. The nation’s largest gun-rights group is also back in the news with a major development in a potentially devastating internal fight.
Plus, Slate Magazine’s Aymann Ismail details the discrimination he found in New Jersey’s gun permitting system on the podcast. And we have a bunch of other stories down in the links, including a new gun-control group suit against the ATF.
Virginia Gun Sales Double as More State Prosecutors Say They Won’t Enforce AR-15 Ban
By Stephen Gutowski
Virginians have been flooding their local gun stores at a record pace since Governor Abigail Spanberger (D.) signed a sales ban on AR-15s and similar firearms. At the same time, at least 14 state prosecutors have refused to enforce the legislation.
The number of gun-sales-related background checks Virginia processed more than doubled year-over-year in May, according to a National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) report released this week. Virginia ranked second behind Texas on checks related to rifle and shotgun sales, with just a month left before the state ban on sales of most popular models in those categories goes into effect.
Virginia, the twelfth most populous state, landed fourth in overall checks, with 74,959 National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) checks, a 103 percent increase over last May.
Gun-Rights Groups Warn Virginia Police Against Enforcing Enjoined Background Check Law
By Jake Fogleman
The tension in the legal standoff between gun-rights groups and Virginia officials over the state’s contested background check law has ramped up.
In a new joint letter published Tuesday, the leaders of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) and Gun Owners of America (GOA) warned Virginia law enforcement officers and prosecutors that they could face personal liability if they help enforce the state’s universal background check law. The groups argued that a court order blocking the measure last year remains in effect despite recent efforts by state officials to revive it, and that any public servant who enforces the law can expect legal action from the groups.
“Those who might choose to violate their oath of office and shirk their duty to obey lawful court orders should know that GOA and VCDL stand ready to assist Virginians in defense of their constitutional rights, if necessary,” the letter reads.
Analysis: How a SCOTUS Footnote Keeps Dooming Silencer Challenges [Member Exclusive]
By Jake Fogleman
When the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a landmark decision recognizing a constitutional right to carry firearms and establishing a strict new test for gun-control laws, most gun-rights activists were ecstatic. Little did they know that lower courts would repeatedly invoke that opinion to thwart their efforts to deregulate silencers.
On Wednesday, a three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the convictions of Joao DeBorba, an illegal immigrant residing in Washington, under a multitude of federal gun laws. The panel tossed his Second Amendment challenge to the federal gun ban for those subject to domestic violence restraining orders because the Supreme Court foreclosed it in US v. Rahimi. It then tossed his Second Amendment challenge to the federal gun ban for illegal immigrants as foreclosed by the circuit’s own binding precedent.
But most interestingly, it also tossed his Second Amendment challenge to his conviction for possessing an unregistered silencer. There, it held that silencers, more accurately called sound suppressors, are simultaneously unprotected by the text of the Second Amendment and currently subject to a type of regulatory regime that SCOTUS has already okayed.
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Wayne LaPierre Loses Appeal Over $4 Million Owed to NRA as Allies Attempt to Spinoff Foundation’s Fortune
By Stephen Gutowski
The National Rifle Association’s (NRA) longtime leader will have to pay the group millions in restitution after losing an appeal, but the internal battle he unleashed has intensified as one arm of the gun group attempts to split off entirely.
On Tuesday, a New York state appellate court panel unanimously ruled against Wayne LaPierre’s attempt to undo the verdict of his 2024 corruption trial. The judges noted LaPierre did not dispute the underlying facts of the case against him, and disagreed that his sentence was beyond the scope of the underlying law. They held that LaPierre still owes the NRA about $4.3 million, and he can’t hold a leadership position at any of its affiliate groups for the next four years.
“We have considered LaPierre’s remaining contentions and find them unavailing,” the panel wrote in an unsigned decision.
The NRA Foundation, currently controlled by LaPierre allies, announced the same day that it plans to officially break off from the broader NRA and rename itself the 1791 Foundation. The move threatens to deal a severe financial blow to the NRA’s overall operations. A copy of the NRA’s 2025 Annual Report, first published by The Reload, indicates the Foundation holds $176 million, or nearly 70 percent, of the organization’s net assets. It also houses about 70 percent of the group’s available cash, with the rest of the NRA holding just $14 million.
Podcast: Is New Jersey Discriminating Against Minority Gun Owners? (Ft. Slate’s Aymann Ismail)
By Stephen Gutowski
This week, we’re looking into reporting on racism in New Jersey’s gun permitting process.
That’s why we’re talking to Aymann Ismail of Slate Magazine, who both experienced issues with his own gun application and interviewed many other minorities in the same situation. He said a Newark permitting official had withdrawn his first gun purchase permit application against his will over an old trespassing misdemeanor that shouldn’t have disqualified him. It wasn’t until later that he found he wasn’t alone in having trouble getting a license.
You can listen to the show on your favorite podcasting app or by clicking here. Video of the episode is available on our YouTube channel.
Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I cover a new analysis of crime data that appears to show a further record drop in murder. We also discuss New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s signing of a novel restriction on 3D printers aimed at preventing them from being used to create gun parts.
Analysis: The Next Non-Resident Carry Fight Will Be Harder [Member Exclusive]
By Jake Fogleman
On the heels of an unbeaten post-Bruen streak that ended blanket state-level bans on non-resident gun-carry permits, advocates have hit a new roadblock in their quest to expand cross-border carry rights.
In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel for the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals this week dismissed a lawsuit challenging Minnesota’s limited recognition of out-of-state gun-carry permits. Though the state offers non-resident permits, it only recognizes those from 33 states. The plaintiff, a Georgia-based long-haul truck driver with valid yet unrecognized carry permits from Georgia and neighboring Florida, argued that the Second Amendment requires states to recognize the permits of every other state.
The panel of all-Republican-appointed judges for the conservative-leaning circuit unanimously disagreed, which suggests securing national reciprocity via judicial mandate will likely be a tougher hill to climb than doing away with carry permitting processes that aren’t open to out-of-staters.
If you’re a Reload Member, click here to read the rest. If not, buy a membership for exclusive access to this and hundreds of other stories!
Outside The Reload
Gun control group sues ATF over records release | NPR | By Jaclyn Diaz
Fifth Circuit Upholds Felon in Possession Ban Against Drug Trafficker
That’s it for this week in guns.
I’ll see you all next week.
Thanks,
Stephen Gutowski
Founder
The Reload