August 20, 2026

Thursday Bulletin – August 20, 2026 Executive Director's Message Richard Pearson New York Glock Ban Hit With Federal Second Amendment Lawsuit Summary of an article from AmmoLand Editor Duncan Johnson, Aug. 17, 2026. The lawsuit The Firing Pin, LLC v. James challenges New York’s newly enacted “convertible pistol” ban, which targets semiautomatic handguns designed with a “cruciform trigger bar” that can be altered using common tools to accept a pistol conversion device. Effective May 31, 2027, selling or transferring a covered firearm can expose dealers or gunsmiths to a Class D felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison and substantial fines. Plaintiffs argue the law effectively aims at Glock and Glock-style handguns by treating them as prohibited based solely on the possibility of illegal conversion—not because the firearms as sold are machine-guns. Filed August 13 in the Western District of New York, the case—bringing claims under the Second...

August 13, 2026

Thursday Bulletin – August 13, 2026 Executive Director's Message Richard Pearson Judge: Short-Barreled Rifle, Suppressor NFA Registration Scheme Unconstitutional Press Release by Matt Coffey, media contact, Second Amendment Foundation - SAF.org. BELLEVUE, Wash. — Aug. 5, 2026 — A judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has ruled that the remaining registration scheme for short-barreled rifles and suppressors in the National Firearms Act (NFA) is unconstitutional in Jensen v. ATF, a case supported by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF). Since 1934, the NFA required anyone who wished to purchase certain classes of firearms, including silencers and short-barreled rifles, to pay a $200 tax and register the firearm with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), purportedly drawing from Congressional authority to levy taxes. Through the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, however, the tax on these arms was eliminated but the registration...

August 6, 2026

Thursday Bulletin – August 6, 2026 Executive Director's Message Richard Pearson A Brief History Of The Winchester Junior Rifle Corps President Theodore Roosevelt established the National Matches and the Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice in the Appropriations Act of 1903. The Appropriations Act also established the idea of state associations to promote marksmanship. The purpose of those associations was to train civilians in marksmanship prior to service in the United States Army. The Illinois State Rifle Association was formed almost immediately thereafter, making it the first, or one of the first, associations formed. When Roosevelt was forming the First United States Volunteer Cavalry in 1898, he discovered that the best marksmen were in the civilian population, not the United States military. His goal was to enshrine principles of marksmanship in civilian groups, not the military. It worked. Excellent marksmanship is not a skill learned in a few hours—it...