2A Newsletter: October 15th

Heller takes on D.C. Again For Overreaching Ghost Gun Law

You may have heard the name ‘Heller,’ before and recognize it from the landmark 2A case D.C. vs Heller from 2008. In that case, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to possess firearms independent of service in a state militia and to use firearms for traditionally lawful purposes, including self-defense within the home. As a response to the “rising number of untraceable ghost guns” on the streets of Washington, the D.C. Council passed a law in 2020 banning those products.

Apparently, this law was so overly-broad that it even outlawed common polymer-based guns such as those made by Glock. This is not the first time something like this has happened in D.C.. Recently, a federal judge found that the D.C. government was liable for the wrongful and unconstitutional arrests of six people who were accused of violating the capitol’s ban on carrying handguns in public. If the decision is upheld, it could clear the way for a class-action lawsuit which would seek compensation for damages incurred against as many as 4,500 other people who were arrested under similar situations.

As Dick Heller charges forward with his newest legal challenge, he attacks the vague definition of an “unfinished frame or receiver,” which is defined in D.C. law as “not yet a component part of a firearm, but which may without the expenditure of substantial time and effort be readily made into an operable frame or receiver through milling, drilling, or other means.” Complicated and unconstitutional, to say the least. We have high hopes for Heller’s new case as he’s been successful in the courts before and look forward to this case paving the way to more rights for those that love to build their own guns. The city is required to respond to the Heller v DC ‘ghost gun’ lawsuit by October 18th.

NRA Leadership Continues To Back Wayne LaPierre

In another update on the topic of the National Rifle Association’s issues of corruption and financial crimes such as embezzlement, Wayne LaPierre has been re-elected as the NRA CEO despite the ongoing corruption lawsuit against the organization. Along with Charles Cotton as elected NRA president, NRA officers and leadership seem to have no problem letting the association literally crumble around them as they share high fives and handshakes with each other (the NRA headquarters building currently has a roof leak that’s so bad, it’s now causing structural damage that some of the top floors have collapsed). Additionally, Lloyds of London, one of the oldest insurance market providers, is not even willing to reinsure the liability insurance coverage for the NRA’s officers and directors.

Sure, the NRA’s finances stayed in the black by the end of 2020 (only the second year in a row that’s recently happened) but this was only possible at the cost of deep cuts to several key programs. Although the association’s revenue and spending have both fallen, its legal expenses have skyrocketed. In 2017, the NRA spent only $12.9 million on legal, audit and tax costs. Of that amount, only $4.6 million of those costs at the time were administrative.

However, by 2020, those administrative costs increased ninefold — $98 million. We’ll leave the mental gymnastics to you if you’d like to see more interesting numbers in the NRA’s financial statements for this year compared to their annual report in 2018. While not entirely shocking, it is frustrating to see LaPierre retain control over an organization that could do so much more for the 2nd Amendment but instead, continues to bleed out slowly.

Sig Sauer Drops Out of 2022 Shot Show Due to COVID-19

Now that the holiday themes seem to have begun in full swing with the arrival of fall season, many of us are anxiously awaiting what SHOT Show will look like in 2022. One major manufacturer, Sig Sauer, has already decided to pull out before waiting for any more news. The company is citing a “significant health risk to their employees” due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  SHOT SHOW 2022 is supposed to be the largest show, space wise, in the history of SHOT. THe 2022 venue will have 800,000 net square feet and the only venue to come close to that was in 2008 when the SHOT venue has 714,000 net square feet.

Sig Sauer has attended the expo for over 30 years and commands one of the largest booths on the main floor with a team of 140 employees tasked to the event so this deals a significant blow to the show in the upcoming quarter next year. However, the company made the alternate decision to donate $500,000 to the National Shooting Sports Foundation which is great for supporting the ongoing mission of protecting this industry, but it likely also got Sig Sauer out of the show while retaining their main floor position for the following year’s expo.

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