The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided not to weigh in on age restrictions for gun ownership at the end of last month. Lower courts have ventured into the void left by SCOTUS a lot over the last few years, and another federal judge did so this week.

As Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman explains, that judge upheld both the federal restrictions on handgun sales to those under-21 and Connecticut’s total ban on ownership. He walks through how she reached that conclusion, and, in a piece for Reload Members, how it differs from what other lower courts have held.

Meanwhile, Jake also takes a look at a potentially monumental Fifth Circuit decision to rehear a challenge to the legal theory that underpins most federal gun laws. A pair of new polls provide insight into how guns might advantage Republicans in the upcoming midterms–as well as why they might not. And a Virginia judge froze a case against the state’s AR-15 ban, with the law’s enforcement blocked until SCOTUS enters its decision on the ban.

Plus, Virginia Citizen Defense League president Philip Van Cleave joins the podcast to explain the state of the legal fight over the AR ban and what comes next. We also have several more stories down in the links, including a piece I just did for The Washington Post on how the ban has backfired on Virginia Democrats.

---

Handguns on display at the 2025 NRA Annual Meeting / Stephen Gutowski

District Judge Upholds Federal, Connecticut Under-21 Handgun Restrictions
By Jake Fogleman

Both the federal government and state governments may restrict young adults’ ability to obtain, possess, or carry firearms, a federal judge has ruled.

US District Judge Sarala Nagala on Thursday upheld the federal ban on federally licensed firearms dealers selling handguns to adults under the age of 21. She likewise upheld Connecticut’s broader state restrictions, which also collectively bar the same age group from being able to possess or carry handguns. Nagala did so after determining that modern weapons restrictions for 18-to-20-year-olds are sufficiently rooted in history.

“Having considered all the admissible testimony of the witnesses and all the admissible documentary evidence, the Court finds that the State and Federal Handgun Restrictions do not violate Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment or Fourteenth Amendment rights, as they are consistent with this Nation’s history and tradition of firearms regulation,” Judge Nagala wrote in Succow v. Blanche.

Click here to continue reading.

---

A handgun on display at the 2025 NRA Annual Meeting / Stephen Gutowski

Analysis: Fight Over Guns for Under-21s is Alive and Well as SCOTUS Ignores Circuit Split [Member Exclusive]
By Jake Fogleman

When the Supreme Court declined to hear several cases dealing with gun rights for adults under 21 last month, the justices opted to leave unmended one of the biggest splits in post-Bruen litigation. Now, new lower courts are joining the fray.

In a new 76-page merits opinion, a Connecticut judge last week issued one of the most comprehensive decisions concerning gun-control restrictions on 18-to-20-year-olds to date. In the case Succow v. Blanche, US District Judge Sarala Nagala addressed restrictions in both state and federal law and touched on virtually every facet of young adult Second Amendment jurisprudence that have split various federal appellate courts, including purchase, carry, and possession bans.

Notably, Nagala upheld them all.

If you’re a Reload Member, click here to read the rest. If not, buy a membership today for exclusive access!

---

AR-15 rifles on display at the 2023 NRA Annual Meeting / Stephen Gutowski

New Orders Keep Virginia AR-15 Sales Ban On Hold Until SCOTUS Ruling
By Stephen Gutowski

The Old Dominion’s ban on the sale of “assault firearms” will not be enforced until the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decides an upcoming case on a similar ban.

On Wednesday, Jeffrey L. Campbell of Virginia’s 28th Judicial Circuit issued a new stay that bars enforcement of the law until after SCOTUS rules in Viramontes v. Cook County in the National Rifle Association’s challenge to the ban. On Friday, US District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema issued a similar stay in the Second Amendment Foundation’s federal challenge to the ban. The Supreme Court case is almost certain to come down by next June.

“It is further ordered that the preliminary injunction previously entered by this court by Order July 7 2026 shall remain in full effect,” Judge Campbell wrote in Santolla v. Katz, “and the Firearms Ban and Magazine Ban are not enforceable, until further Order of this Court or no later 60 days after the U.S. Supreme Court issues a decision in Viramontes and Grant, whichever occurs.”

“[I]t is ordered that all deadlines and proceedings in this matter and are stayed pending the United States Supreme Court’s issuance of the mandates in Viramontes and Grant, or until further order of this Court,” Judge Brinkema wrote in McDonald v. Katz.

Click here to read more.

---

The Capitol Building dome in Washington. DC / Stephen Gutowski

Voters Pick Republicans Over Democrats on Guns, Put Issue Far Down Their Priority List
By Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech

New polling indicates Republicans hold an edge on gun policy headed into the midterms, but that might not help them much.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday found 35 percent of Americans said the GOP has a better plan for handling “gun violence and gun control,” which is three points more than said the same for Democrats. Still, guns ranked near the bottom of a list of Americans’ biggest concerns in an Economist/YouGov poll released the same day. It found just 2 percent of American adults said guns were the most important issue to them.

However, the Reuters/Ipsos poll indicates Republicans’ advantage on gun policy jumps by a point to 39/34 when considering just responses from registered voters. The advantage appears to stem primarily from 79 percent of Republicans backing their party’s approach to firearms regulation while only 74 percent of Democrats back their party. The poll found independents evenly split between the two parties on the issue, but that they were also most likely not to pick one or the other.

Click here to read the rest.

---

Podcast: AR-15s Return to Virginia Shelves (Ft. VCDL’s Phil Van Cleave)
By Stephen Gutowski

This week, AR-15s returned to the shelves of gun stores in the Old Dominion.

Despite being removed about three weeks ago amid a murky legal situation, the popular rifles are back on sale after gun-rights activists secured a statewide injunction against the state’s “assault firearms” ban. So, we have one of those activists on the show this week to update us on the legal situation. That is Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) president Philip Van Cleave.

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 ruling out of the First Circuit Court of Appeals upholding Massachusetts’ ban on AR-15s and similar rifles. Meanwhile, we discuss the fact that the same weapons are now back on sale in Virginia after a state court injunction against the Commonwealth’s similar ban took effect.

Audio here. Video here.

---

A Taurus revolver on display at a trade show / Stephen Gutowski

Analysis: Appeals Court to Reconsider Foundation of Federal Gun Control [Member Exclusive]
By Jake Fogleman

With a recent vote, the country’s most conservative federal appeals court has agreed to consider a ruling that could upend America’s federal gun-control regime.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday voted to take the case US v. Squire en banc. The case concerns a challenge to § 922(g)(1), the federal lifetime gun ban for convicted felons, filed by Curtis Squires, a Louisiana man who was charged under the ban for possessing a handgun despite being previously convicted of dealing heroin and several other felonies. A three-judge Fifth Circuit panel rejected Squire’s challenge last month, giving occasion for the court to consider taking it up in full.

That history is fairly par for the course as far as court news goes these days. The federal felony gun ban is the most charged federal gun control law and, by extension, has become the most commonly challenged gun law in constitutional suits ever since the US Supreme Court decided New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen in 2022. Furthermore, at least one en banc appellate court has already struck the law down as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment, at least as applied to a particular non-violent felon.

What makes the Fifth Circuit’s en banc grant in this case stand out then is not just that another court might again invalidate a felon-in-possession conviction. Instead, it is the fact that the court agreed to take up the case to expressly reconsider the underlying constitutional justification Congress used when it passed 922(g)(1), along with the rest of the Gun Control Act, in the first place.

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

Ban AR-style rifles? Virginia is a warning. | Washington Post | By Stephen Gutowski

Father of Georgia school shooter sentenced to 15 years in prison in landmark murder case | CNN | By Eric Levenson, Isabel Rosales, and Devon M. Sayers

Colorado residents rush to buy guns ahead of new restrictions, breaking sales records for several stores | Denver Gazette | By Debbie Kelley and Matt Kyle

Sturm Ruger Swings to Profit as Firearms Demand Drives Revenue Growth | Wall Street Journal | By Anvee Bhutani

Civilian Marksmanship Program Announces Sale of M14s | Bearing Arms | By Cam Edwards

Virginia Court of Appeals Upholds Gun Ban for Forgery Conviction | Courthouse News Service

US Virgin Islands faces new lawsuit over nonresident carry rights | Associated Press | By Danica Coto

---

That’s it for this week in guns.

If you want to hear expert analysis of these stories and more, make sure you grab a Reload membership to get our exclusive analysis newsletter every Sunday!

I’ll see you all next week.

Thanks,
Stephen Gutowski
Founder
The Reload