Our guest is Philip Van Cleave. He's the president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), and one of the top gun-rights activists working in Richmond. He has been on the ground since the beginning of the session, and he has tracked every gun bill going through the legislature.

So far, 33 gun bills have passed through at least one chamber. Many have passed through both. Some are already identical copies, and on their way to Governor Abigal Spanberger's (D.) desk, where she's expected to sign them.

However, Van Cleave said there are several bills that each house will have to reconcile during what's called "crossover" in Virginia. That's where he believes gun-rights activists still have a chance to block at least some of the bills. He noted they were already able to block a few bills, such as the proposed $500 tax on suppressors.

Still, he said it's going to be an uphill battle to block big-ticket items like the "assault weapons" banand numerous gun-carry restrictions. But he said VCDL is going to keep pressuring lawmakers and the governor until the session ends. Then he said they plan to pursue legal actions if some of the more aggressive restrictions pass.

Special Guest: Philip Van Cleave.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris seem to have found their message on guns and are sticking to it. Assassination attempts, a major school shooting, and the race tightening haven't moved voters. Neither has any of that moved the candidates themselves.

So, we've got Bearing Arms editor Cam Edwards back on the show to look at where everything has landed. He agreed there's little reason to think the campaigns are going to change course on message or intensity at this point. But he argued both sides are taking a flawed approach.

Cam said Trump ought to do more to try and entice gun owners to turn out for him rather than just talking about how he doesn't think they will show up. On the other hand, he argued Harris trying to parry claims she'll take Americans' guns by emphasizing her own gun ownership felt inauthentic and didn't do enough to counteract some of the farther left positions she's staked out on guns in the past.

Special Guest: Cam Edwards.

Dave Weigel is a writer for Semafor, who runs their Americana newsletter. He has been covering national politics across major outlets for decades now. He is one of the best-sourced reporters out there.

He said Kamala Harris bringing up her gun ownership at the debate was a bit of a surprise since she hasn't talked much about that before. He agreed the fact she owns a handgun for self-defense could make her more relatable to the average gun owner than Tim Walz, who centers his gun ownership around hunting. But he doubted that would become a major part of her campaign going forward.

Weigel said guns have been a relatively minor issue in the election thus far. He said that was likely due to two factors. One is the relative lack of high-profile shootings. The other is the limits on what gun control is even possible under the Supreme Court's Bruen precedent.

Special Guest: Dave Weigel.

What does all that mean for the short and long-term prospects of the gun-rights movement?

That's the question we've brought Bearing Arms editor Cam Edwards on to the show to help us answer. He's one of the best gun writers in the country, and he brings a complementary but unique view of where this is all headed.

Cam argued the silence on the Second Amendment at the RNC was evidence the gun-rights movement's continued reliance on a single party for its influence is a real risk. However, he also said Trump's assassination attempt may not drive new gun restrictions like some others in American history have. And he argued the GOP's newfound skittishness toward gun politics could actually reverse if the race tightens than the other way around.

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Special Guest: Cam Edwards.

So, we've got one of the top pro-gun scholars in the country on the show to break down what The Court did and didn't hold. Independence Institute's David Kopel has been at the forefront of the Second Amendment fight for decades, with citations in federal court decisions coast to coast and at the Supreme Court itself. He also filed a brief in Rahimi that appears to have significantly influenced the majority's thinking.

Kopel lays out the good, bad, and ugly of the ruling that upheld the domestic violence restraining order gun ban. He said he wasn't surprised The Court upheld Rahimi's conviction, given a lower court found him dangerous. He also agreed with some of the warnings about how the majority loosened the standard for the Bruen test that Justice Clarance Thomas included in his lengthy dissent.

However, Kopel said he was overall pleased with the Rahimi decision's outcome. He argued it gave credence to future challenges to the same law by defendants who don't have the same lengthy criminal record as Rahimi did. He also predicted how the case might impact other Second Amendment cases pending in the lower courts.

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Special Guest: David Kopel.

So, we decided to reach out to one of the most prominent plaintiffs in the case: YouTuber Reno May. He said he is happy with the outcome of the case. He even expressed optimism that the ruling might go into effect without an appeal.

Federal District Judge Judge Cormac J. Carney agreed with May and the other plaintiffs' argument that the state's "Unsafe Handgun Law" violates the Second Amendment. He found the requirement that all new models of handguns include loaded chamber indicators, magazine disconnect safeties, and microstamping were unlike anything in the historical record. Judge Carney said that the law can't stand under the Bruen standard.

While the problem with California banning handguns that don't feature a theoretical technology, like Microstamping, May explained why the other two requirements were actually more challenging for gun makers to meet than they first seem. For instance, many modern guns have some kind of loaded chamber indicator, but California requires one that has a specific phrase written on it to qualify.

May said the law has prevented him from buying any modern handgun from a dealer since he started buying them after 2013. He noted he and other Californians may still have to wait to buy new handguns, though, because the ruling doesn't go into effect for several more days. And he noted California is likely to appeal the verdict while asking for a stay that would delay the effect of this ruling.

But he noted the odd silence from the state and gun-control supporters about the case. That gives him hope that an appeal may not be coming. May also gave us some insight into the modern pistols he plans to buy if no appeal comes.

Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I talk about why a federal judge added Polymer80 to the list of companies the ATF can't go after under President Biden's "ghost gun" ban.

Special Guest: Reno May.

Wilson is a pioneer in 3D-printed guns having developed the first prototype called The Liberator. His Ghost Gunner mini-CNC machine is among the popular ways to finish the unfinished gun receivers commonly available on the market.

As such, he read through the entire 364-page final guidance on the new ban from the ATF. We discuss the ins and out of what exactly is illegal now, how that will impact the firearms industry, and some of the surprises in the final regulation.

Wilson says he feels the regulations are unjust and unconstitutional. He said he plans to file suit against the administration over the changes. 

Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I talk about what we've found out about President Biden's new ATF director nominee Steve Dettelbach.

Special Guest: Cody Wilson.