By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New: The U.S. Senate has confirmed ALL of President Trump’s cabinet nominees; Trump Administration: Support for Second Amendment rights; & new ATF Director? Alaska: A red flag law suspending Second Amendment rights, HB89, has been introduced; New Hampshire: HB56 and HB352 were defeated in the House Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety; New Jersey: several anti-Second Amendment bills passed in Assembly Judiciary Committee; New Mexico: not action yet on two anti-Second Amendment bills; South Carolina—the House Subcommittee on Fish, Game, and Forestry has unanimously passed H3872; South Dakota, HB1222 passed the House; Texas: hearing on recognizing out-of-state Right-to-Carry Permits: Utah: HB133 still awaiting action in the Senate Rules Committee; Wyoming legislature passes HB172.
Trump Administration
Cabinet nominations
All Trump Cabinet Nominees have been approved.
- Kash Patel, the nominee for FBI Director, received a favorable vote from the U.S. Senate on February 20, 51-49. The man who discovered the Russia hoax is now in charge of the FBI! As of February 23, many Second Amendment supporters on social media reported that Kash Patel had been named the BATFE’s Acting Director. As reported last month, Steven Dettelbach resigned as Director effective Jan. 18. This story is fluid, and we will keep reporting as information becomes available.
Support for Second Amendment rights
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee) is collaborating with the White House to appoint 43 federal judges who support the Constitution, particularly the Second Amendment.
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s chief of Staff is Chad Mizelle, who is married to Judge Katherine Mizelle, who President Trump had appointed during his first term. Judge Mizelle’s ruling came on Feb. 2, 2024, in the United States v. Ayala. She ruled in favor of the Second Amendment in the case of Emmanuel Ayala, a truck driver with a concealed carry permit, who was charged with violating 18 U.S.C. § 930(a) and a postal regulation (39 C.F.R. § 232.1(l)) for carrying a handgun in his vehicle while dropping off mail at a post office. She ruled that the government failed to show that a blanket ban on firearms in post offices aligned with historical traditions of firearm regulation from the Founding Era or Reconstruction. The United States appealed the case, and the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has taken no action.
All 50 state legislatures are in session in 2025
Additional states convening in February: Alabama, Nevada
Alaska: HB89, a red flag law suspending Second Amendment rightshas been introduced and will be heard in the House State Affairs Committee.
Colorado: The House passed HB25-1133, restricting firearms ammunition purchases to 18-to-20-year-olds on Feb. 21.
New Hampshire: On Feb. 20, the two bills that had a hearing in the House Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety earlier this year were defeated. They will not proceed during the 2025 legislative session. HB56 imposes a three-day waiting period before a purchaser may receive a purchased firearm, and HB352 seeks to ban the carrying of firearms at all polling places.
New Jersey: On Feb. 20, the Assembly Judiciary Committee passed a gaggle of bills that would impact gun owners in New Jersey. They include A1389, which mandates the confiscation of firearms and ammunition in response to accusations of domestic violence; A4974, state penalties for the sale of “machine gun conversion devices;” A4975, possession of digital instructions (files) to manufacture firearms or firearms parts; A4976, a crime for reckless discharge, which is already unlawful in NJ; and A5345, prohibiting payment processors from using firearm-specific merchant category codes for firearms, ammunition, and components.
New Mexico: As of the date of this report, the Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to vote on the following bills on Feb. 20, but no vote was taken. This year’s GOSAFE Act, SB279, is ananti-Second Amendment bill introduced in the Senate. Our website provides a comprehensive description of this bill. SB318 allows private lawsuits against firearms manufacturers, distributors, and online platforms for third-party actions that the NM Attorney General would initiate. With your help, these bills will not proceed to the Senate floor.
South Carolina: The House Subcommittee on Fish, Game, and Forestry unanimously passed H3872, the Hunting Heritage Protection Act.
South Dakota: The House Judiciary Committee passed HB1222, which allows permit holders to store firearms in vehicles on school grounds. The House passed it on February 19, 64-5. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Texas: Today, the Senate State Affairs Committee will have a hearing for SB706, recognizing out-of-state Right-to-Carry Permits.
Utah: The Senate Rules Committee has not released HB133, the recodification of Utah’s firearms laws, for Senate consideration. The bill passed the House on Feb. 4 and has been held in the Senate Rules Committee since then.
Wyoming: HB172, which expands lawful carry opportunities across the state by repealing gun-free zones for government meetings and schools, passed the Senate on Feb. 21. It now goes to Governor Mark Gordon.
