On Tuesday, a U.S. district judge ruled that New Jersey’s ban on the Colt AR-15 is unconstitutional, lamenting in his opinion, which heavily referenced the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision, that “Where the Supreme Court has set forth the law of our Nation, as a lower court, I am bound to follow it.” A couple of weeks ago, a federal appeals court ruled that a Minnesota law barring people under 21 from applying to carry a handgun in public violates the Second Amendment. And in June, a lawsuit challenging a new state excise tax on the sale of guns and ammunition was filed in California court.

There’s a common denominator in these cases, among the most recent in a slew of lawsuits since Bruen: The Firearms Policy Coalition is a plaintiff in each. 

The Firearms Policy Coalition and its offshoot, the Firearms Policy Foundation, are major players in reporter Will Van Sant’s new investigation into a far-reaching, multimillion-dollar legal campaign to dismantle America’s gun laws. As Van Sant writes, this operation is “akin to the Christian right’s abortion playbook, but for guns.” His story, published with Mother Jones, pieces together the network behind this effort — and tries to understand the motives of the enigmatic undercover cop-turned-evangelical pastor at the center of it.

Van Sant’s story is one of two major investigations out from The Trace this week. The other, published in partnership with Type Investigations and Business Insider, uncovers the hidden history of shootings by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Journalist Lila Hassan analyzed six years of data, exposing a rogue force whose officers recklessly fire their weapons — and are rarely held accountable.

Each investigation sheds light on aspects of America’s gun violence crisis that have not been revealed in such depth before. I hope you’ll give them a read.

From The Trace

What to Know This Week

Under Mayor Eric Adams, the New York Police Department is piloting an AI-powered weapons-detection technology at select stations in the city’s subway system. The Adams administration claims the tech will keep guns out of the transit system. But is it a solution without a problem? [Vital City] 

The remedies portion of the National Rifle Association’s civil corruption trial came to a close in New York this week. Though he blasted the NRA’s “stunning lack of accountability” in his bench ruling, Judge Joel M. Cohen declined state Attorney General Letitia James’s request to impose external oversight over the group. Cohen also banned former chief executive Wayne LaPierre from the organization for 10 years — but not for life, as James had sought. [Courthouse News] 

In March, Chicago filed a federal lawsuit against Glock’s U.S. operator alleging that the company manufactured pistols that encourage modification with devices like “switches.” That suit was thwarted — but now, Chicago’s back with a similar challenge and a new legal strategy. [ProPublica] 

Why did it take hundreds of law enforcement officers two days to find the body of the man who killed 18 people in a gun rampage in Lewiston, Maine, last October, despite repeated tips about the location? Documents point to inefficiencies and miscommunications, and raise questions about whether Maine police were adequately prepared to respond — and whether they’d be ready to respond to a similar situation today. [Portland Press Herald] 

The rapper Quavo showed his support for Vice President Kamala Harris’ and her run for the Oval Office during an Atlanta campaign rally this Tuesday. He spoke to the crowd about her commitment to tackling gun violence, an issue he’s been vocal about since Takeoff, his nephew and fellow Migos group member, was shot and killed in 2022. That same year, Quavo founded his own Atlanta-based gun violence prevention group, The Rocket Foundation. [Billboard/Variety]

In Memoriam

Marco Antonio Vargas Arellano, 40, could make you feel better just by walking through the door. He was “always smiling, never bothered by anything,” and someone who would always “find a way to make your day better,” loved ones wrote on his obituary page. Vargas Arellano, a vendor for the Utz snack company, was shot and killed last week in a Kernersville, North Carolina, grocery store. He always had a positive attitude: Even at “5 o’clock in the morning,” a friend said, Vargas Arellano “always had that big ol’ smile on his face.” A husband and a father of four, Vargas Arellano also had a gentle heart. “If you knew him, he wouldn’t kill a fly,” another friend said. “He wouldn’t. He would actually pick the fly up and take it outside to release it.”

We Recommend

John Hinckley Jr. and the Madness of American Political Violence: “Forty-three years ago, he shot the president in a delusional bid for attention — one in a long line of disturbed young men who have bent the arc of the nation’s history.” [The New York Times Magazine]

Pull Quote

“You have the obligation to reveal who you are and should have the confidence to provide transparency to the public. If you can’t be forthcoming with who you are, that is a red flag.”

— Autumn Snider, whose 19-year-old son was shot and killed at a 2016 party in Washington state, on funding transparency in litigation, to The Trace

Sunny Sone
Sunny is in charge of our newsletters, leading the growth of existing products and dreaming up new ones. They previously worked as a copy editor at The Intercept and as digital editor for the Texas Observer, and co-published a web-only magazine under the Brick House media cooperative. Sunny has covered topics ranging from the Texas funeral industry to the life of visionary composer Pauline Oliveros. They hold a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.