➡ As we move from 2025 to 2026, it’s important to note that despite some challenges, the Second Amendment has seen significant victories in court. These wins have confirmed the right to buy, carry, and acquire ammunition, rejected public safety balancing disguised as history, and created pressure for Supreme Court review. Some of the major victories include blocking New Mexico’s seven-day waiting period, ruling California’s ammunition background check scheme as unconstitutional, and striking down California’s one gun per month law. These victories, along with others, have set the stage for more progress in 2026.
➡ In 2025, there were setbacks in the fight for gun rights, such as the upholding of the California magazine ban and restrictions in New Jersey and New York. However, there were also victories, like the striking down of waiting periods, ammo background checks, and the one gun a month rule. The Supreme Court is set to address key issues in 2026, including carry nullification schemes and categorical bans. Despite the challenges, the fight for gun rights is gaining momentum and supporters are urged to stay informed and involved.

All right folks, as we close the books on 2025 and start to head into 2026, I want to do something strategic with you. Because if you only watched the headlines, you would think that the Second Amendment has had a rough year in the courts. But that’s not the full story. Not even close. 2025 was a foundation year. A year where we saw major wins, key rulings that split the circuits, and most importantly, cases that are now positioned to force the Supreme Court to finally clean up the mess that lower courts have made out of Bruin.

So today I’m going to give you a clear, court-focused rundown of wins and losses in 2025, but with one goal. To keep your eyes on the victories and the momentum heading into 2026. Let’s get into it. Let’s start with the big picture. 2025 was about momentum, not perfection. And here’s the truth. After Bruin, the anti-2A states did not comply. They rebranded resistance as regulation. They wrote sensitive places laws so broad that they functioned like carry bans. They pushed permission slip schemes. They tried to make private property a legal trap. And they leaned on friendly circuits and friendly judges to stall, delay, and uphold as much as possible.

But in 2025, gun owners scored real wins in the courts. Wins that do three critical things. Number one, they confirm the right covers real world conduct like buying, carrying, and acquiring ammunition. Number two, they reject modern public safety balancing disguised as history. And number three, they create pressure for Supreme Court review because the circuits are diverging. That’s how you win the long game in the courts. Before we get into some of the wins we’ve had this year, check out blackoutcoffee.com slash gng. We just, as I’m hitting record, we just launched our new year’s sale where you can save 25% on coffee through January 3rd.

It’s automatic. Just add stuff to your cart, takes care of it, but you have to jump on it now. blackoutcoffee.com slash gng. Thank you for your support over the years at blackout. We really, really appreciate it. Also, if you carry a gun or you love the fact that you can defend yourself and your loved ones here in America with or without a gun and with or without a political clown’s approval, then join attorney’s arm retainer now before the year ends. In just a couple short days, prices will be going up.

So if you join today, you can lock in this pricing until 2030 and that’s huge. Plus I can save you $50 off of your individual signup, your individual plan signup fee or $25 off of your family plan signup fee. But only if you use my code GNG at the link below, you can also use the QR code I have floating above one of my shoulders here. Jump on it now as time is running out. God forbid you ever have to defend yourself. You’re going to want a seasoned trained attack bulldog attorney in your corner and their attorneys at AOR only do self-defense cases.

And if you have to go to trial for a felony, you’re gonna get four of those attorneys fighting for your freedom. But only if you remember, remember to use my code GNG at the link or the QR code. Thanks to AOR for supporting the channel this year. All right, let’s talk about some 2025 courtroom wins and what we actually gained. Win number one, let’s talk about waiting periods. Most recently, a couple, maybe a week ago, waiting periods took a major hit in the 10th circuit, specifically New Mexico. It’s one of the biggest pro to a developments of the year.

And it was the 10th circuit blocking New Mexico’s seven day waiting period and doing it on the core principle that the second amendment cannot be treated like a second class right. It was beautiful. And that matters because waiting periods are sold as minor inconveniences, but the court recognize what we’ve been saying forever. A constitutional right delayed for a cooling off period is still a burden on the right. It’s still a right denied, especially when someone needs a firearm for lawful self-defense now, not next week. So momentum heading into 2026 here is this doesn’t just affect New Mexico.

It puts waiting period laws everywhere on thin ice, especially inside the 10th circuit’s footprint. Number two, let’s talk about California’s ammo background check and how it got rocked in the 9th circuit. Another major victory was the 9th circuit rule that California’s ammunition background check scheme is unconstitutional, upholding a permanent injunction against it. Huge for a very simple reason. The right to keep bare arms is meaningless if the state can choke off the supply chain of ammunition through modern process punishments. If you cannot reasonably acquire ammunition, your firearm becomes an expensive paperweight, a makeshift wannabe boomerang if you will.

Momentum heading into 26 in this area is a clean example of courts applying Bruin in a way that actually protects the right, not a way that rationalizes the restriction. A third win was California’s one gun a month law which was struck down in the 9th circuit. Another significant win in the 9th where the panel held California’s one gun per 30 day restriction was unconstitutional, affirming the lower court’s ruling. Now the reasoning is what matters here. The court recognized that acquiring firearms through purchase is part of the protected conduct and the state’s monthly rationing didn’t match historical tradition.

Momentum here in this side is even in the 9th circuit. Yes, the 9th circuit you can still win when courts apply the test honestly. A fourth win, young adults got major wins and the Supreme Court let stand Minnesota’s under 21 carry permits and this one matters nationally. Minnesota tried to keep its ban on issuing carry permits to 18 to 20 year olds. Yes, carry permits are unconstitutional and the lower court struck it down and then in April this year the Supreme Court declined to take Minnesota’s appeal leaving the pro-to-a ruling in place.

So whether people like it or not, the practical effect is this. A state cannot just erase the right for an entire class of otherwise law abiding adults without a historical grounded tradition that supports it and Minnesota couldn’t show that. So momentum in this area heading into 2026, dozens of states have age-based restrictions and this outcome invites litigation everywhere. In fact, the Supreme Court has some cases on their doorstep. Another win here is the Supreme Court itself took up two major second amendment cases for this coming term which starts in a couple weeks.

Now let’s talk about the most important win of all and that’s positioning because 2025 was the year that the Supreme Court’s pipeline filled up with serious second amendment disputes. Two in particular, Wolford v. Lopez, which is addressing Hawaii’s sensitive places, private property carry rules, which we all call the vampire rule, where carry is presumed illegal unless the property owner gives you affirmative permission to carry. And the second one is United States versus Heimani, a major case out of about firearm possession restrictions tied to alleged drug use and how far the government can go under the second amendment to ban somebody for something they use, they put into their bodies of their own free will.

Now they also have several cases awaiting their potential approval, awaiting certiorari, cases involving the permanent ban on the second amendment for non-violent felons. I think there’s like 15 cases that are knocking on the Supreme Court’s door here waiting to see if they’re going to issue certiorari to one of them or hold them all and listen to one case and hear one case and then the rest will be GVR, granted certiorari vacated and then remanded back to lower cases to be reheard based off of their decision, but many many of those cases are on the doorstep.

We also have magazine restrictions, so-called assault weapons and more. Now these are not small issues, these are the issues that states have used to nullify Bruin in practice while pretending to comply. So momentum in this area heading into 2026, this is the Supreme Court signaling that it is not done and that lower courts can’t just freestyle their way into turning the rights into a privilege. Now we definitely had a really good year with other wins including President Trump’s Second Amendment executive order, repeals of ATF’s pistol brace and zero tolerance rules, the FRT victory, the DOJ’s creation of the Second Amendment rights section who has since sued Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department for permit delays, sued DC for their assault weapon ban and has testified against Illinois in court on their assault weapon ban.

We’ve had the NFA tax crushed, we’ve had California and New York forced to issue non-resident permits. True constitutional carry was restored here in Tennessee. Virginia’s universal background check law was struck down. Florida, their open carry ban was destroyed. Wyoming’s gun-free zone law was repealed. Memphis, Tennessee’s made up red flag ordinance was crushed. The US Postal Service carry ban was ruled unconstitutional and 18 to 20 year old carry rights were restored in several cases across the country and many more. This is obviously, this would be a very long video if I listed every single one of them.

We’ve also had a major shake-up at ATF which included cutting personnel that were obviously part of the previous administration and were not willing to relent on their anti-2A agenda. The ATF budget was also slashed. Yes, that all happened and so did some losses. I’m not going to sit here and lie to you and make it seem like all is unicorns and rainbows. There were losses, but I want you to hear this clearly. A loss in 2025 often meant a delay, a split decision, or a posture problem, not the end of the road.

For instance, the Supreme Court declined some high-profile cases. Early this year, the Supreme Court declined to hear certain challenges, including ones involving bans and licensing schemes, leaving lower court rulings intact. Even Justice Kavanaugh publicly signaled the court may have to address assault weapon bans soon because the issue is not going away. The translation, denials are frustrating. Yes, for me as well. But they also build the record and the conflict among circuits, which is what they want. They want circuit courts to be conflicting. I know it sucks that we have to wait sometimes, but the legal system was designed to be slow for a reason.

Another loss we had was the California magazine ban was upheld in the 9th. That’s the Duncan case. It was a major setback that the en banc decision upholding California’s magazine ban in Duncan v. Bonta even happened. But here’s the part we need to understand. That ruling did not end the national fight. It intensified the pressure for the Supreme Court review because different courts treat arms, accessories, and common use differently, and they absolutely shouldn’t. My right here in East Tennessee exists if I’m in Northern California. It exists if I’m in Central New York or if I’m even in New York City.

My rights don’t go away. Don’t care if the politicians don’t agree. It’s my right. It’s not an opinion. Now, we had some other losses too, like in Sensitive Places. In New Jersey and in New York, we had a mixed bag. We saw courts uphold major pieces of Sensitive Places regimes. Like I said, in New Jersey, the 3rd Circuit largely upheld many location bans, but still blocked certain provisions of it, including the liability insurance requirement. In New York, the Federal Appeals Court decision upheld restrictions involving places like Times Square and public transit.

Stupid. But it’s not dead. So the courts are treating Sensitive Places as an elastic concept, and that is going to end soon. But that’s exactly why Wulford is so important. The Supreme Court taking the Wulford case is a direct response to that chaos. And the real story for 2025 is that the anti-2A strategy was nullification by paperwork, and the courts are starting to push back. If I had to summarize 2025 in one sentence, it’s this. The fight shifted from can you own a gun to can you functionally exercise the right. And that’s why our wins this year matter so much.

Waiting periods struck down means the right can’t be delayed into uselessness. Ammo background checks struck down means the right can’t be regulated into dysfunction. And one gun a month struck down means the right can’t be rationed like a privilege. Under 21 carry wins that were left standing means the right can’t be erased for law abiding adults by legislative fiat. Supreme Court taking Wulford and Heimani means that the court is being forced to confront carry nullification schemes and categorical bans again. And that’s not a losing year. That’s a year of forward movement momentum.

Now heading into 2026, what should we be watching for? Well, here are the three big storylines, the big three, if you will, that we should be watching as we start 2026. Number one is the Supreme Court’s carry reality check. Wulford is the private property carry fight that could kneecap the vampire rule approach, where carry is presumed illegal almost everywhere by default. Number two is the Supreme Court clarifying disarmament categories. Heimani is part of a larger question. How far can the federal government go in categorical disarmament? And what counts as historically supported? Number three, the arms in common use wars continue.

Magazine bans, feature bans for rifles and hardware cases aren’t going away. And the court has already signaled the issue may come back. Now, let me leave you with this. The anti-Second Amendment side wants you exhausted. They want you conditioned to believe that the courts are hopeless, that the fight is over, and that the right is negotiable. But 2025 proved the opposite. We put waiting periods on the ropes. We knocked out ammunition background checks in a major circuit. We beat purchasing rationing. We defended young adults’ rights, and we watched the Supreme Court let it stand.

And we forced the Supreme Court to take up the carry nullification playbook itself. Plus, we are literally at a spot we’ve never been in history. In the 91 years that the National Firearms Act has been a thing, we have our first positive momentum in destroying it. Of course, we all wanted it gone immediately. That’s not the case. We have the tax going to zero dollars for short-barreled firearms and suppressors in two days. And we have some seriously powerful lawsuits looking to dismantle what’s left. And I think they will be very successful. So yes, there were losses, but 2025 was the year where the legal ground shifted.

Heading into 2026, the goal is simple. Stay encouraged, stay informed, and support the groups that are actually doing the litigation. And do not let anyone tell you that a fundamental right only exists when the government feels like recognizing it. I love y’all. Thank you for another great year here on Guns and Gadgets. I just am very grateful that you all come back day in and day out. Please share this. Spread the channel. Make sure your subscription is still on. Ring the bell. Hit the thumbs up. Do all the things that will help YouTube recognize that you know what? This channel is one of the good ones.

I appreciate y’all. Have a great day. I love you. Be safe. God bless you. Take care. [tr:trw].

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