The Weekly Reload Podcast

This week, we have Professor Dru Stevenson of the South Texas College of Law on the show to give his analysis of the Supreme Court's latest Second Amendment case. A few weeks back, we had pro-gun author and lawyer Mark Smith on to give his view of United States v. Rahimi. But I want to make sure we offer you all a wide variety of perspectives on where the case is headed. Stevenson certainly comes from a very different point of view, and he has an intimate knowledge of the case. He joined a brief in the case alongside other professors and a gun-control group. They argued the domestic violence restraining order gun ban should be upheld. However, they went much further and argued both Bruen AND Heller should be overturned as well. Stevenson and I discuss the reasons why he thinks the Court's view of the Second Amendment as guaranteeing an individual right to keep and bear arms is wrong. We go through the common arguments and discuss their validity. But Stevenson also acknowledged the Court is very, very unlikely to adopt his point of view. He said the brief was part of a long-term effort to build the foundation for completely undoing the Court's gun jurisprudence at some point down the line. In the meantime, he gave his thoughts on where a majority of justices might actually come down in this case. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I talk about the lack of gun policy mentions during the first Republican primary debate.Special Guest: Dru Stevenson.

It has been a little while since we've done a Q&A podcast. So, we decided to take some questions from Reload Members for this week's episode. And we got a lot of great questions. I'm not sure if buying a Reload Membership makes somebody smarter or if only smart people buy Reload Memberships, but, either way, we always seem to get really great questions during these Q&As. This time was no different. We received shrewd questions on a variety of topics. Lots of members wanted to know about the timing of many of the gun cases that have made their way up the federal court system since Bruen was handed down last year. They also wanted to know what cases the Supreme Court is likely to take up. Will SCOTUS accept one of the "assault weapons" ban cases? What about the pistol brace ban? Also, what's going on with weed and guns? Where is that combination from a legal standpoint? And what are we seeing from all those new gun owners that have come into the fold over the last few years? Are the predictions of their huge impact panning out? How can we even tell? There were lots of other great questions too. So, make sure you listen to the full show.

This week, we're talking with one of the most prolific independent gun litigators in the country. Alan Beck set about successfully undoing the country's stun gun bans in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2016 Caetano ruling. He also challenged Hawaii's effective ban on gun carry in Young. Now, he's back taking on the Aloha State's strict gun laws in the wake of 2022's Bruen. And he's winning. This week alone he notched victories in two different cases against Hawaii. First, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled the state's total ban on butterfly knives violates the Second Amendment. Then a federal judge appointed by Barack Obama found Hawaii's post-Bruen "sensitive places" gun-carry restrictions, including in restaurants, also run afoul of the Second Amendment. Beck explains the ins and outs of those rulings as well as their significant implications for future cases in Hawaii and beyond. Then he describes a new suit he just filed against a Hawaii county trying to force concealed-carry permit applicants to waive nearly all of their privacy rights, including what they've told their lawyers or even priests. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss the Supreme Court's intervention into the "ghost gun" case.Special Guest: Alan Beck.

The last domino to fall in President Joe Biden's gun agenda was toppled by a Fifth Circuit panel. So, we're bringing one of the best political writers in the country. Nationals Review's Charles Cooke is one of the top conservative analysts on both the legal and political side of guns in America. He joins the show to talk about why Biden's pistol-brace ban was tossed. Hint: It wasn't because of the Second Amendment. Instead, Cooke noted the courts have objected to the ATF overstepping its bounds when creating Biden's gun policies. He said that fact makes it very likely the Supreme Court would object on the same grounds. That's because, as presidents from across the political spectrum have taken to expanding the power of executive agencies, the Court has begun to pair back agency overreach. Cooke argued the losing streak is bad for President Biden's reelection. Despite what's shaping up to be an unprecedented 2024 election, which seems likely to include bump stock ban originator Donald Trump, Cooke said the constitutionally-deficient policies will drag Biden down. Especially because the majority of people who've heard about them are the ones they negatively affect. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I talk about how a Memphis school's security procedures stopped a mass shooting.Special Guest: Charles Cooke.

This week, we're looking at a recent study that found a substantial number of gun owners may be unwilling to tell pollsters they own guns. To help illuminate some of the significant implications of the research, we have Reason Magazine's JD Tuccille joining us. He did a great piece on the study over at Reason and had several important insights. For one, he said the study may undercut almost everything we think we know about guns in America. After all, it raised the possibility that as many as half of the people who told the researchers they didn't own a firearm really did. If that's the case, our view of gun ownership has been far too limited. Tuccille also explained some major reasons gun owners may not want to tell researchers about their firearms. And there are several. Everything from concerns over the government getting ahold of the information to distrusting the motivations of academics at liberal universities. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss the NYPD withholding gun permits even after the Supreme Court's latest Second Amendment ruling. And I talk about how the National Journalism Center's range day went (hint: pretty great).Special Guest: JD Tuccille.

This week, we're taking a close look at a new study that suggests showing kids a minute-long video stops them from handling a gun while unsupervised. We are lucky enough to have Ohio State University PHD student, and lead author of the study, Sophie Kjaervik with us for this episode. She explained that kids in her experiment that watched a short gun safety video featuring a uniformed police officer were far less likely to pick up a real, but disabled, gun in a controlled setting than kids shown a car safety video with the same cop. And the difference was significant. Kjaervik explained in depth how the researchers recruited the kids in the study, how they decided who watched which video, how they staged the guns, how they monitored the children, and collected data. She also noted there were a few additional factors that signaled a kid would be less likely to handle the guns they found. Those included a dislike for guns, but also parents who owned guns and experience with some other form of gun safety training beforehand. Overall, Kjaervik said the experiment showed that gun-safety videos are a viable way to prevent accidental shootings. But it also showed how efforts like the NRA's Eddie Eagle program could be improved. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I examine the ruling upholding San Jose's gun ownership tax and insurance mandate.Special Guest: Sophie Kjaervik.

This week, we're taking a closer look at the data that indicates the murder rate is finally on a downward slope. And there's no better guest to have than the man who has documented the decline. Crime analyst Jeff Asher joins the show to give us insight into his methodology for tracking murder across the country. His numbers show what could be a historic reversal of the recent murder spike. The data from over 100 city police departments indicate murder may be down as much as 10 percent. But Asher also explains the limitations of real-time data as well as the continuing problems with the FBI's data collection. Still, he says trends in even a few cities can be broadly predictive nationwide. And what he's seeing is backed up by other measures as well. Of course, not every city is improving, and Asher highlights standout cities going in either direction. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I talk about the downturn in gun sales. And we have another member segment!

The Supreme Court just agreed to take up a brand new Second Amendment case. So, we've got author and member of the Supreme Court bar Mark W. Smith on the show this week. Smith, who also hosts the Four Boxes Diner YouTube channel, joins to talk about the ins and outs of United States v. Rahimi. The Supreme Court will have to decide whether the Second Amendment protects the right of those subject to a domestic violence restraining order to own guns. And, as Smith notes, it will be doing so for one of the least sympathetic defendants imaginable because Rahimi is the suspect in a long list of violent crimes. That means the Court could rule to uphold the restriction, according to Smith. And that's why, he argues, the case was appealed straight up to the Supreme Court by Attorney General Merrick Garland even though there was another level of appeal he could have gone to first. Still, Smith isn't convinced the case is that cut and dry. He argued the Court may well find the lower bar of evidence required to issue a restraining order compared to obtaining a criminal conviction could cause enough justices to turn against the restriction. And he said the Court has shown it is not as sensitive to public criticism as in previous years. He said the decision to take this case to SCOTUS may backfire on Garland, but also admitted it's not clear where the Court will come down. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I talk about President Biden's "ghost gun" ban being vacated. And I discuss my continued frustrations with trying to renew my concealed carry permit.Special Guest: Mark W. Smith.

This week, we're examining a new ruling in favor of New York's ban on carrying a concealed gun in places of worship. It's a somewhat surprising decision that comes after the state already abandoned the total ban and several other judges have struck it down. So, the whole situation is a bit confusing. That's why we have New York State Jewish Gun Club member Rabbi Tzvi Hershel Goldstein on the show. He is directly affected by the new ruling, and his group helped fund the case against it. He argues the ban on worshipers carrying at synagogue violates not just his Second Amendment rights but his First Amendment rights too. He said the group plans to appeal the decision and expects to win at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, though the slower pace of this case may result in the issue being decided before they get there. Still, Goldstein said the club is willing to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. But that court will have to decide another gun case first. Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I talk about the breaking news that the Supreme Court has agreed to take a new Second Amendment case. We go over the details of the case and try to read some tea leaves on where the Court may come down.

This week, we're looking closely at the deal Hunter Biden struck with federal prosecutors over his 2018 gun purchase while he was using illicit drugs. That's why I brought on a former federal prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney Ken White. He's also a podcast host and writes under the name Popehat. So, he's able to explain the ins and outs of the indictment and give some analysis of the politics of it all too. White noted that the felony charge Hunter struck a deal on is rarely pursued as a standalone charge. It's also almost never punished with the maximum possible sentence. He said the pretrial diversion program Hunter and prosecutors agreed to, which includes a lifetime ban on gun ownership, is not an unheard-of consequence for somebody without previous convictions on their record. He said the charge may not have been brought against other defendants under similar circumstances. But he agreed Hunter may have forced the prosecutors' hands by publicizing his drug use through a book and media tour. White also noted the deal does reflect poorly on Hunter's father because the senior Biden has pursued stricter gun laws in office while his son got himself in this mess. And all of the other controversies surrounding Hunter may leave people feeling he's received special treatment even if the deal he received was reasonable for the specific charges in the case. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss the surprising failure of the pistol-brace ban repeal resolution in the Senate. And Jake tells us about a collectible gun he bought from the Civilian Marksmanship Program.Special Guest: Ken White.