The Weekly Reload Podcast

Author and Washington Post Columnist Radley Balko joins the show this week to talk about how police militarization impacts gun rights. Balko has spent a career documenting questionable police tactics, and he provides some unique insight into the Amir Locke case. Minneapolis Police killed Locke during a no-knock raid in February because he reached for a gun during the confusion caused by his apartment door being kicked in without warning. Locke wasn't the subject of the warrant and had no record, but he ended up dead. Now, the police officer who shot him has been cleared of any wrongdoing. He is far from the only person who has had their life or freedom taken without recourse as the result of drawing a gun during a no-knock raid. Balko gives background on a vast collection of people who have found themselves in the same situation. We also discuss the delicate balance between respecting police, attempting to make their jobs safer, and upholding Americans' civil liberties. Balko explains his view on how gun-rights proponents should react when those priorities come into conflict. And he shares real-world examples of it happening, including the use of dubious ballistic matching evidence against criminal defendants. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss California Senator Diane Feinstein's (D.) solution to last week's deadly shootout in Sacramento. And we have another member segment too!Special Guest: Radley Balko.

Florida is going to have a special session where Governor Ron DeSantis (R.) says he hopes permitless gun-carry is added to the agenda. So, who better to bring on the show to discuss this news than Florida Man Charles Cooke? The National Review senior writer joined the podcast to give some insight into the state of the proposal. He said it will likely be an uphill battle to get the policy through the legislature even with the backing of DeSantis. He also explained the unique nature of Florida's gun laws which lag behind those of other red states despite the Sunshine State's reputation as the "Gunshine State." Cooke also weighed in on the success of the permitless carry movement thus far. He said the momentum generated by the incredible sweep gun-rights advocates have been able to pull of in such a short period of time will generate enough pressure to get the policy passed in Florida. But, he said, it might not be until next year. We also look at what Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation hearings revealed about her views on the Second Amendment.  She has a sparse record on guns, but she was nominated by a staunch gun-control proponent and the gun-control groups all support her. However, there is some reason to believe she may take a more expansive view of the Second Amendment than previous Democratic nominees. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman looks at new data on first-time gun owners and we have another member segment!Special Guest: Charles Cooke.

Nationally-syndicated radio host and author Erick Erickson joins the show this week to talk about the Georgia election, NRA, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Erickson, who lives in Georgia, has closely followed the gubernatorial election. The Republican primary has been particularly heated this year with former-president Donald Trump enticing former-senator David Purdue to run against incumbent Brian Kemp as a form of payback over rebuffed attempts to flip the 2020 election results. With Kemp facing stiff opposition he's turned back to a policy he first ran on in 2018: permitless gun-carry. Whether Kemp can get the bill over the finish line before the election comes will have a big impact on the race, according to Erickson. He also weighs in on the claim by Perdue and likely Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams that Kemp sat on the proposal until it was politically advantageous. He said even if those claims are true, it may not matter if Kemp ultimately delivers which he seems to be on the cusp of doing. Erickson also talked about the idea the gun-rights movement has been so successful it's started to lead to problems. He cites the corruption allegations weighing down the NRA as one example, but also pointed to some more questionable gun bills making it into law in deep-red states. He said the gun-rights movement should refocus its efforts on fighting strict gun laws in deep-blue states rather than passing symbolic or even counter-productive laws in places they've already enacted a myriad of pro-gun policies. Erickson also weighed in on why he isn't convinced by President Biden's Supreme Court nominee saying she believes in the Heller precedent. He said he doesn't trust her not to overturn the landmark gun case given the chance. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman joins the show to talk about how armed Ukrainian civilians helped fend off a mechanized Russian assault on a key farm town. And we speak to another Reload Member this week. Dennis Chapman, a lawyer and author living in Virginia, joins the show to talk about how he became interested in guns to the point of writing a book about the AR-15.Special Guest: Erick Erickson.

Rhode Island's statewide stun-gun ban was overturned by a federal court this week. It was the last of its kind, and the latest to fall in what's becoming a systemic dismantling of the prohibitions across the country. The effort to liberalize stun gun and taser laws wasn't undertaken by any of the major gun-rights groups or civil-rights organizations. It hasn't been backed by anyone with deep pockets. Instead, it's been something of a passion project for a lawyer who started off with a $10,000 budget. That lawyer is Alan Beck, and he's our guest on this week's episode of the podcast. Beck describes what motivated him to get involved in stun-gun litigation. He also explains how a key 2016 Supreme Court decision added fuel to the fire which swept through multiple state and local bans. He explained his strategy for tearing down the prohibitions and how that same strategy could foreshadow what's possible for other areas of Second Amendment litigation. He also details how places like Hawaii have tried to push back against the courts striking down their stun-gun bans by imposing restrictions just short of prohibitions. And he says that's exactly how states forced to give up their restrictive gun-carry laws could react. Speaking of Hawaii, Beck has also filed a number of suits against that state's outlier gun laws. The most famous of which is Young v. Hawaii where he was able to convince a lower court to toss the state's total ban on open carry before being reversed at the Ninth Circuit. That case is now pending appeal at the Supreme Court. We talk about why Hawaii has similarly been neglected by most gun-rights groups despite having some of the strictest gun laws in the country. Reload member Nathan Gorenstein also joins the show for a member segment. The former Philadelphia Inquirer editor shares how he became interested in guns, and how legendary gun designer John Moses Browning piqued his interest enough to write an entire book about him. Plus, contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss the latest state to adopt permitless gun-carry.Special Guest: Alan Beck.

We're doing something different this week. Instead of interviewing an expert on a single topic, we're letting Reload members interview us on a bunch of different topics. It's our first Q&A episode! Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I answer questions on a wide range of stories. What is going on with gun laws and armed civilians in Ukraine? How could it affect American gun politics? How much control does Wayne LaPierre have over the NRA board? What's happening with President Biden's pistol brace ban proposal? How does grandfathering play into his plan? What would it take to get a national reciprocity bill? When could gun owners see carry bans or AR-15 bans come to an end? What effect could the Supreme Court's gun-carry case have on that timeline? How might that same Supreme Court ruling affect demand for guns in deep blue states? Plus, what's the best way to improve media coverage of gun issues throughout the country?

The NRA will not be forced to close down due to the New York Attorney General's corruption suit. However, the case remains active. So, former NRA board member Rocky Marshall joined the show this week to discuss the internal fight over the corruption allegations against NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and other members of leadership. Marshall is one of the few board members to publicly oppose LaPierre and make efforts to remove him from leadership. Last year, he became the first person to run against LaPierre for Executive Vice President. He said he is glad the Attorney General won't be able to shutter the organization. He also said he believes the evidence shows LaPierre did divert large sums of NRA money to his own personal expenses. Marshall argued the group has been seriously harmed by that corruption and must be reformed if it hopes to survive. But the board remains almost entirely behind LaPierre. Marshall lost the election to LaPierre in a landslide, and he wasn't renominated to run for the board again this year. Plus, NRA lawyers have accused him of trying to take over control of the NRA for himself. Marshall said the board is effectively controlled by a small number of board members who are on many of the most important board committees. He argued that group of LaPierre loyalists controls the board nomination process, which goes through the board's nominating committee, and forces internal critics off their committee positions and the board as a whole. He said the only hope for the NRA is a member-led reform movement and said that's what he is focusing his efforts on now. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss where President Biden's Supreme Court nominee may end up on gun law.Special Guest: Rocky Marshall.

War continues to rage in Ukraine as Russia attempts to capture cities across the nation despite fierce resistance. Part of that resistance has been made up of civilian volunteers who've gained new protections for their right to armed defense and been given guns by the military. Anthony Constantini, who received a master's degree in arms control and strategic studies from St. Petersburg State University, joined me on the show to discuss how this strategy of arming civilians represents a departure from traditional European views. And we talk about how it may play out. Anthony wrote an analysis piece for The Reload on how this shift towards civilian gun rights may impact the entire region's attitudes. The situation strikes at the heart of what many gun-rights advocates have long believed: an armed populace is harder to oppress. But the reality is the fight will be brutal and could last for a long time. Arming the public, especially when done as an invasion begins, is not a magic silver bullet that guarantees an easy win. There is no reason to envy the position Ukrainians are in right now, but they've given us many reasons to admire them. Ukraine is unique and better positioned to employ volunteer civilian fighters than many in the west may realize, though. Anthony pointed out the country has been fighting a war with Russian-backed separatists for the past 8 years and volunteers have played a major role. Plus, the government has been actively training those volunteer groups and incorporating them into the military for a good while now. The situation is moving quickly and there is no way to know how things will turn out. However, it appears the Russian invasion has not met its main goal of capturing the country's major cities and deposing its government. We don't know for sure how much the armed population is bolstering the country's military operations, but everything we've heard from the Ukrainian people thus far indicates they have the kind of resolve that will make it extremely difficult to keep them under Putin's heel.Special Guest: Anthony Constantini.

Insurers for the defunct Remington Outdoor Company paid out a $73 million settlement to families of the Sandy Hook victims. It was the first time any gun company, even a bankrupt and dismantled one, has ever paid money to plaintiffs who claimed they were at least partially responsible for the criminal acts of a third party. It's an unprecedented situation that raises a ton of questions. That's why I brought on one of the best gun writers out there: Bearing Arms editor Cam Edwards. Cam and I go through the 6-year timeline of the case and talk about how we got to this settlement. The case was filed in 2015 with three different claims for how Remington was liable for the actions of the shooter. Two of those arguments dealt with how selling the AR-15, the most popular rifle in America, to civilians was unacceptable because the plaintiffs view them as "weapons of war." Those claims were tossed by the Connecticut Supreme Court. However, the same court allowed the third claim that Remington's advertising violated Connecticut law and contributed to the lethality of the attack to move forward. The United States Supreme Court declined to intervene after that and Remington Outdoor Company filed for bankruptcy a few months later. That put the defunct company's insurers in charge of the case and they moved to settle almost immediately after that. The nature of the plaintiffs' argument combined with a lack of evidence the shooter or his mother (who actually bought the gun) ever saw the advertising makes it difficult to understand the insurers' decision. I've offered up some explanation for it, but Cam had some additional insights I'd never thought of before. He noted that the recent payouts to the Parkland and Sutherland Springs shooting victims may have played into the insurers' calculous. Those cases saw totals over the $100 million mark. Plus, a jury could be sympathetic to the victims and try to hold Remington accountable for what happened since it's difficult to find anyone else to hold responsible. At the same time, Cam said the merits of the case seemed weak and people aren't inclined to blame a company when somebody uses their product to commit a crime.  We also predicted how the settlement might impact the industry as a whole. Cam said insurance rates may go up and the success of the plaintiffs could inspire similar suits. However, he noted these kinds of suits have been going for decades already and the settlement did not set any kind of binding legal precedent. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss Beto O'Rourke's latest zig-zag on gun confiscation.Special Guest: Cam Edwards.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R.) joined the podcast this week to discuss his approach to gun policy and why he thinks gun owners should vote for him. We started off by discussing his background with guns. He talked about how he got into hunting and how members of his family have become concealed carriers themselves. Kemp also explained getting permitless gun-carry passed this year is his top priority. He said he was confident the policy would pass this year because lawmakers will be more motivated after the rioting of 2020. He said voters would prefer his record to promises made by his primary opponent former Senator David Perdue (R.). “I think that’s what people want,” Kemp said. “They want a governor that’s got a record of not only saying what they’re going to do but actually doing it when they’re in office, which is what I’ve done. Versus somebody like my opponent who promises everything, goes and does something differently or is a johnny-come-lately to the policy side of this.” He accused Perdue of supporting permitless carry out of political convenience. “Anybody who gets into the governor’s race is now supportive of Constitutional carry,” Kempt said. “I would remind you that I was for it back when I campaigned back in 2017 and 18. I’ve got a strong Second Amendment record.” Kemp also went after Abrams during our interview. He attacked her as somebody who wants to confiscate firearms. “Well, I think if you really translate what she’s saying is she doesn’t want law-abiding people to have firearms and to be able to carry,” Kemp said. He also said her objections to permitless carry were unfounded and said it was vital for gun owners that she not win the race. “Obviously, those individuals shouldn’t be allowed to carry,” Kemp said. “The legislation would prevent that. But when you have people that break the law, they don’t really care about this. This is about letting lawful people be able to carry their weapon and protect themselves.” He said he was the only candidate on the Republican side who could defeat her. Oddly, both Perdue and likely Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams (D.) told The Reload they question Kemp's commitment to permitless carry since he was unable to pass it during his time in office. Each campaign fired back at Perdue's comments on the show. You can read more about the Perdue and Abrams exchanges in our reporting from Friday. Kemp also talked at length about how he is bringing gun companies to Georgia, whether the state is turning purple, and how he believes Georgia Democrats have moved too far to the left on guns. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman joins me to talk about the Air Force being forced to compensate victims of the Sutherland Spring shooting and Beto O'Rourke backtracking on his pledge to take away people's AR-15s.Special Guest: Brian Kemp.

On this week's episode, we drill down into the details of the internal financial document The Reload obtained from an NRA source. Ohio State University Accounting Professor Brian Mittendorf joins the show to give insight into what the document says and what the massive drops in revenue and membership reveal about the future of the country's most influential gun group. He says the NRA has actually improved its financial position, but only by drastically cutting back on its core services. That puts it in danger of entering a kind of "death spiral" with fewer members leading to fewer revenue and services, leading to fewer members, he said. Allegations of corruption against NRA leadership, including CEO Wayne LaPierre, and the effects of the pandemic have combined for a serious blow to the organization. With membership shrinking, revenues have dwindled. That's forced the gun-rights behemoth to make difficult choices about cutting its training, community outreach, competitive shooting, and many more programs. Professor Mittendorf has followed the NRA's finances for years and said the internal document obtained by The Reload is one of the most in-depth accountings ever made public. He talked about the complex makeup of the group, its bankruptcy, its legal spending, and its fascinating debt payments. Plus, he talks at length about how new planned gifts have cratered despite being a major source of long-term revenue. Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman provides a deeper look at the NRA's membership situation. Dues have fallen by half since 2018. Membership has continually declined since then. The NRA's internal accounting contradicts its public claim it reached 6 million members in that year. Instead, it was below 5.5 million at its peak and is now closer to 4.75 million. I also explain why the NRA's financial situation continues to matter so much. Not just for NRA members and staff, but for everyone who cares about guns. The group continues to loom large over the gun-rights fight in America by dwarfing most other groups combined.Special Guest: Brian Mittendorf.