The Weekly Reload Podcast

This week, we're taking a big-picture view of the Supreme Court's upcoming slate of Second Amendment cases. That's because this slate will be the biggest yet. Now, sure, that still only means they have two Second Amendment claims to consider. But that's more than ever before, and it comes just a few months after many gun-rights activists thought the Court was wavering on the deciding key cases. So, to discuss what we should make of this Supreme Court term, we've got Independence Institute research director David Kopel back on the show. He is one of the leading scholars in the gun-rights movement, and his work helped develop and legitimize the individual right theory of the Second Amendment. He has been cited in numerous Supreme Court gun opinions and is an odd-on favorite to be quoted again this year. Kopel argued it is notable that the Supreme Court is taking up more Second Amendment cases than ever before. He said there are outcomes that could dramatically alter the legal landscape for gun-carry or people who smoke marijuana and own guns. However, he also noted that narrow rulings could still alter the course of Second Amendment caselaw, given the Court's infrequent involvement in the issue to date. Kopel said every word a Supreme Court justice utters or writes in the course of deciding these two cases will be pored over by the lower courts for years to come.Special Guest: David Kopel.

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss the country's largest gun-control group taking a victory lap after Glock announced changes to the design of its popular pistols. We talk about the reputational risks for Glock in appearing to bow to pressure from gun-control groups and progressive lawmakers. We also cover a recent court ruling out of Florida where a state judge struck down a law setting 21 as the minimum age to legally carry a handgun.

The Supreme Court has taken a record number of Second Amendment cases this term. Sure, that number is only two. But that's still a major development for a Court that's taken fewer than ten Second Amendment cases in its entire history. One of those chosen few cases is now Wolford v. Lopez, a challenge to Hawaii requiring licensed gun carriers to get explicit permission before entering publicly accessible private property--including stores or restaurants. Alan Beck is the gun-rights lawyer behind that suit. He'll be arguing it at the Supreme Court. And he's the guest on this week's show. Beck explains how Hawaii's law swaps the default presumption from one where gun carriers are generally allowed to carry into one where they aren't. He claimed the change has made it nearly impossible to legally carry in public. He then outlined his plan for convincing the justices that the law is out of line with the historical tradition of gun regulation in America, as the Court's current Second Amendment test requires.Special Guest: Alan Beck.

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss the Supreme Court agreeing to hear multiple Second Amendment cases in the same term for the first time in history. We cover the details of its latest case, related to the federal gun ban for marijuana users, and explain why it appears that the DOJ was able to maneuver the case to secure a favorable ruling from the justices. Additionally, we talk about Glock's decision to completely redesign its famous pistols in the face of lawsuits and a new state ban.

This week, we saw the nation's largest state effectively ban the nation's most popular handgun brand. California Governor Gavin Newsom quietly signed the "Glock ban" into law with little fanfare, but its impact could speak volumes. That's what Cam Edwards of Bearing Arms argued on the show. He explained that while the law doesn't directly name Glock, and it doesn't appear to implicate later pistol models from the company, it serves as an effective ban on the brand in the Golden State. That's because another California pistol ban, the handgun roster, already makes it impossible for most civilians to purchase new model Glocks. And the latest law targets the internal mechanism that the older generation Glocks are built around. Cam acknowledged that "Glock switches," which illegally convert the semi-auto pistols to be capable of full-auto fire, have become increasingly popular in recent years. However, he argued that isn't Glock's fault and questioned both the sincerity of California lawmakers' concerns and the idea that Glocks are especially susceptible to illegal conversion attempts. He said that blaming Glock for criminals illegally modifying their guns without their cooperation or consent is wrong and warned that tactic is likely to be replicated against other popular firearm brands or models in the near future.Special Guest: Cam Edwards.

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss the ways in which the federal government's ongoing shutdown is impacting key functions that gun-rights advocates care about, drawing fresh criticism of the Trump administration. We also talk about a recent ruling out of the Second Circuit where a three-judge panel of all Trump-appointed judges ruled that ammunition sales aren't protected by the Second Amendment.

We are now more than a month out from the end of President Donald Trump's federal takeover of Washington, DC's police department and the deployment of federal troops and agents. We have some preliminary crime data to look at and try to judge the effect of the controversial move. Who better to do that than Jeff Asher of AH Datalytics? He's our go-to source for crime data analysis for good reason. He has been tracking real-time insights for years, and he just wrote a deep dive into the early crime data coming out of DC from multiple sources. Asher said the data shows some noticeable changes over the course of the takeover. Although, he also said the Metropolitan Police Department's method of using year-to-date comparisons is misleading. And many key crime areas saw little or no change. He said one of the big challenges in judging the crime stats comes from the fact that DC's crime was already declining in most notable areas before the takeover happened. Asher argued that makes it especially difficult to suss out whether the year-to-date declines some areas saw are actually the result of armed National Guard members or ATF agents roaming the streets of DC. Still, he said shootings and carjackings in particular appeared to experience a significant, though not massive, drop beyond what you'd expect from the previous rate of decline.Special Guest: Jeff Asher.

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I break down the lack of consensus among prominent Second Amendment scholars on why the Supreme Court decided to take up its latest gun carry case and how it is likely to rule on the question. We also discuss their thoughts on why the Court chose not to weigh in on the correct historical era for conducting its text, history, and tradition test.

This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a first-of-its-kind civil rights lawsuit against the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department over gun-carry permitting delays. So, we have a man at the center of the case on the show to discuss it. Kostas Moros is a gun-rights lawyer who works at the Second Amendment Foundation, which is involved in a private suit against the department. He has also been directly impacted by the permitting process, with his own permit having expired as he waits for the department to process his renewal. He also helped inspire the federal lawsuit. After he publicly advocated for the DOJ to pursue a pattern and practice investigation of the Sheriff's permitting process, the department reached out to him before following through. He said the DOJ's suit is largely focused on the same claims as the private one, but he thinks it is more than a duplicative effort. He noted the DOJ has more power, prestige, and potential resources than any gun-rights group. He argued DOJ can, and did in this case, require localities to hand over important statistics and documents. They can also obtain a consent decree and oversee the department's permitting process. Moros dismissed the Sheriff's Department's defenses for the delays. He argued funding or staffing issues aren't a viable excuse for years-long delays, especially when other counties don't have similar problems. Still, he said LA is not the only place the DOJ should consider filing this kind of suit, and he hopes this one is just a precursor to many others.Special Guest: Kostas Moros.

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I talk about the Supreme Court announcing its decision to hear a new Second Amendment case dealing with Hawaii's so-called Vampire Rule for gun carry this upcoming term. We also talk about the practical impact its decision last term related to gunmaker liability protections is having in the lower courts thus far. Finally, we cover the Trump administration's ongoing rollback of a Biden-era restriction on gun exports, as well as the DOJ's new lawsuit against Los Angeles over concealed carry permits.