News Wrap - October 31, 2025
In D.C., in the states, and in the courts
Since our last News Wrap, we’ve seen a legislative push in several states for gun safety measures. Meanwhile, gun laws in Oregon and Florida are confronting hurdles in the courts. In the capital, firearms industry lobbyists have scored a key concession from the Trump Administration while many gun violence prevention groups face a painful funding setback.
U.S. firearms examiners have been declared “essential government workers” and will be able to return to work in a key win for firearms industry lobbyists.
The declaration will allow firearms dealers to resume sale of highly regulated firearms and accessories—silencers, short-barelled rifles, and vintage machine guns, among others.
Such purchases had been paused as examiners were put on furlough during the government shutdown.
The pause was met with hostility from lobbyists and a number of Republican lawmakers, who claimed it was in violation of gun owner’s rights.
While examiners return to work, about 670,000 other federal workers remain on furlough, and vital programs such as SNAP food assistance are on hold.
Gun violence prevention groups around which a vital federal grant program was built have been disqualified from applying for funds this year.
The program was created to support community-centered tools in both urban and rural areas for researching and preventing gun violence.
The grant was geared towards community-based organizations, nonprofits, and local and state governments, but now only city, county, and tribal governments will be allowed to apply.
It was a “lifeline” for many organizations, says Amber Goodwin, the co-founder of the Community Violence Legal Network (CVLN).
The cuts are part of a broader move by the Trump Administration to cut more than $800 million in funding for initiatives to address gun, sexual, and other forms of violence, among other vital issues.
In the States
While Maine voters consider instituting a red flag law, Pennsylvania lawmakers have passed a law intending to enhance safety in schools. Mayors in Minnesota continue their push for jurisdiction to pass their own gun measures in the absence of action by state lawmakers.
Maine: On November 4, voters across the state will weigh in on whether to establish a red flag law.
Question 2 on the state ballot proposes a process for family or other household members and law enforcement to request an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) from a court.
ERPOs allow a court to temporarily restrict a person’s access to firearms when they pose a risk to others or themselves, and research shows that they are effective at preventing both suicides and homicides involving firearms.
Moreover, 97Percent’s research shows that 72 percent of gun owners nationwide support ERPOs.
Maine currently has a “yellow flag law,” which requires a person at risk to be taken into protective custody and evaluated by a medical expert before a temporary restriction can be issued.
Pennsylvania: The state’s senate has nearly unanimously approved a bill which would require school administrators to notify parents and employees about weapons incidents on campus.
It now heads to Governor Josh Shapiro’s desk for signing.
Supporters hope that the bill will enhance awareness of and data on such incidents to better understand how to prevent violence in schools.
Opponents say it will cause unnecessary anxiety and should differentiate between firearms and other weapons.
Minnesota: The City of St. Paul has proposed a ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines inside city limits.
The move is in response to inaction by state lawmakers following calls for a special session to consider solutions to gun violence.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter joined the mayor of Minneapolis and others across the state in calling for state lawmakers to take action after a shooting in a Minneapolis church last August claimed the lives of two children.
They also called for the state’s preemption law, which bars local governments from making their own firearm legislation, to be repealed. In the absence of a repeal, St. Paul’s proposed ban will be blocked.
In the Courts
While Florida’s age limit on concealed carry has failed to stand up to the scrutiny of a county judge, Oregon’s high capacity magazine ban and permit requirement await the next step in their own case.
Florida: A judge in South Florida has struck down the state’s law barring people under 21 years of age from carrying a concealed weapon.
The decision was made on the basis of the Bruen test, a legal requirement for firearm restrictions to have a basis in the U.S.’s historical legal tradition regarding firearms.
The age limit, says the judge, is not supported by any comparable founding-era law and thus violates the test.
Oregon: An Oregon law banning magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds and requiring a permit to purchase a firearm is set to face the state’s Supreme Court in November.
Measure 114 was approved by voters via a 2022 ballot initiative, but it was challenged in court by a gun rights group on constitutional grounds.
Observers of this case are also keeping a close eye on the U.S. Supreme Court, which is deciding whether it will hear a case challenging a similar law enacted in California.
An unsupportive finding in that case would set a precedent against Oregon’s law.
In our last issue, we asked you whether the law that bans drug users from possessing firearms should be struck down (United States v. Hemani). Here’s what some of you had to say.
I think that if you’ve been clean for over 25 years, you should have the right, if your crime was nonviolent. —Alen S.
Drug users should not own or be allowed to carry and use guns. Alcohol, the biggest drug used and abused in this country, is absolutely associated with gun violence and terror. No alcohol users should be allowed to own guns. —Seasherm
Do you have a comment about any of these critical issues? Do you have a story to share? We’d love to hear from you. Please include your first name and state, and we may publish it in a future issue. Thank you for reading!
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