Firearms Policy Coalition

PHILADELPHIA (July 17, 2026) — Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) today announced a landmark victory after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, sitting en banc, held in FPC’s Cheeseman v. New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport case that New Jersey's “assault firearm” ban on semi-automatic rifles violates the Second Amendment. The decision comes just weeks after the Supreme Court granted review in FPC’s Viramontes v. Cook County case, which challenges a similar ban in Illinois and has the potential to strike down these unconstitutional bans nationwide.

What: Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced that the Trump Department of Justice moved to voluntarily dismiss its appeal of FPC’s victory against the federal post office gun ban in FPC v. Blanche—formerly FPC v. Bondi. If the Fifth Circuit grants the unopposed motion, the district court’s permanent injunction will remain in place unchanged.

What: Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed an amicus brief with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the defendant in United States v. Machamer, in which Mr. Machamer is unconstitutionally charged for possessing an unregistered short-barreled rifle.

(July 9, 2026) — Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) President Brandon Combs issued the following statement responding to the Seventh Circuit’s opinion in FPC’s Harrel v. Raoul lawsuit (consolidated with Barnett v. Raoul and others) challenging the Illinois Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) bans on so-called “assault weapons” and “large-capacity” magazines. The district court declared the bans unconstitutional following extensive briefing, presentation of evidence, and a trial, but the Seventh Circuit reversed that ruling today:

What: Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed a petition for certiorari asking the Supreme Court of the United States to review Calce v. New York City, an FPC lawsuit challenging New York City's ban on electronic arms, including stun guns and tasers. The petition asks the Court to reaffirm that the Second Amendment protects all bearable arms—not just firearms—and to resolve confusion among lower courts over how bans on protected arms must be analyzed under Bruen. The petition explains that the Court could resolve the case through summary reversal—granting review and overturning the decision below without full briefing and oral argument—or, in the alternative, hold the case pending its decision in FPC’s recently granted Viramontes v. Cook County challenge to a ban on so-called “assault weapons,” which is expected to provide important guidance regarding the constitutional framework for evaluating bans on protected arms.

We repost this article every year. If you’ve seen it before, and even if you haven't, please share this important information with your friends and family--for the Republic.

We, like many of you, will enjoy today's Fourth of July celebration with family, friends, food, and fireworks. And while those good things bring us close together as a people, it’s valuable to remember how we, as a uniquely free United States, came to be—and, especially, why. It has become a tradition for us to read aloud the Declaration of Independence on July 4th to put our celebration into a proper historical, philosophical, and emotional context. As law professor Josh Blackman correctly notes, “while you are enjoying your hotdogs and fireworks, praise the Declaration, which even today retains legal vitality.”

We encourage viewers and those interested in American history to read Georgetown Law Professor and constitutional scholar, Randy Barnett's excellent, easy-to-read short article explaining the Declaration here in conjunction with reading the Declaration below. [Note: Some paragraph breaks added to facilitate reading on mobile devices.]

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

What: Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed a motion to supplement Renna v. Calif. Attorney General Rob Bonta, its federal lawsuit challenging California’s handgun roster, to add a claim against the State’s ban on semiautomatic handguns with cruciform trigger bars, including nearly every Glock and Glock-style pistol on the market.

What: Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF) filed comments with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) on the proposed “Revising Definition of ‘Unlawful User of or Addicted to Controlled Substance’” rule, which would revise the agency's definition of who is considered an "unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance" and therefore prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law.

What: Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), joined by the Colorado State Shooting Association (CSSA), filed a new federal lawsuit, Elliott v. Denver, challenging Denver’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” and Denver’s and Colorado’s bans on magazines that can hold more than 15 rounds. The filing comes the same day the U.S. Supreme Court granted review in FPC’s Viramontes v. Cook County challenge to Cook County, Illinois’s “assault weapons” ban.

What: The Supreme Court of the United States denied Pennsylvania officials’ request for review (certiorari) in Firearms Policy Coalition’s Bivens case, formerly captioned Lara v. Paris and Lara v. Evanchick, leaving in place FPC’s Third Circuit victory against Pennsylvania laws that banned peaceable adults under 21 from carrying firearms outside the home.

WASHINGTON (June 30, 2026) — Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) issued the following statement in response to the United States Supreme Court granting review in FPC’s Viramontes v. Cook County, Illinois lawsuit challenging the County’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment:

What: Consistent with FPC’s victories against “vampire rule” laws in multiple states, the United States Supreme Court today issued a major 6-to-3 decision in Wolford v. Lopez holding that Hawaii cannot presume that peaceable carry is forbidden on private property held open to the public unless the owner first gives express permission. In the decision, the Court held that this reversal of the longstanding common-law default unconstitutionally infringes upon the exercise of the right to bear arms and violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.

WASHINGTON (June 24, 2026) — Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s recent remarks regarding national concealed carry reciprocity legislation:

What: A reply brief in support of the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment was filed in Roberts v. ATF, an FPC-backed challenge to the National Firearms Act of 1934.

What: A Florida appeals court held in Eubanks v. State that Florida’s ban on public carry by peaceable 18-to-20-year-old adults violates the Second Amendment, citing FPC victories against age-based bans in multiple courts. Notably, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said that his office will not appeal the ruling.

What: Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed its opening brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Reese v. ATF, challenging the district court’s denial of complete relief after FPC prevailed against the federal age-based handgun and ammunition purchase ban.

What: Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed a reply in support of its motion for summary judgment in Morris v. Savannah, its lawsuit challenging a City of Savannah, Georgia firearm storage ordinance that is patently unlawful under the State’s comprehensive firearm preemption law.