The Weekly Reload Podcast

Reload Reporter Ben Owen and I explain the changes the National Rifle Association wants to see to the Department of Justice's proposed rights restoration process. We also discuss a federal court giving the green light to Buffalo mass shooting victims' suit against a gun accessory maker. And we look at how the NRA is using a recent DOJ brief to boost its lawsuit against New Jersey's silencer ban.

This week, we're checking back in on one of the biggest stories of the year: the murder rate's record decline.

So, we've got the nation's most widely-cited crime data analyst on the show to explain what's going on. Jeff Asher of AH Datalytics runs a crime database that updates weekly, but manages to track closely to the FBI's reports. However, he's able to report crime trends months or even years before the FBI.

Asher said the latest news is very good.

Murder is on a record decline as we move through the halfway point of 2025. Asher said the murder decline isn't just happening at a record pace, but it's likely to end at a record low as well. He noted the decline is nationwide and puts some cities below the raw number of murders seen in previous decades, not just the murder per capita rate.

Asher also analyzed some of the common reasons offered up for why murder has fallen, and said it's not easy to explain. But he also gives his preferred theory.

Special Guest: Jeff Asher.

Reload reporter Ben Owen and I discuss the new Department of Justice gun-rights restoration rule they proposed late last week. We also look at its decision not to appeal a Fifth Circuit ruling against the pistol brace ban. And Ben talks about his time at the National Journalism Center as well as our recent range day.

There has been a ton of gun news over the past week. So, we figured it would be a good time to have another Q&A podcast.

I think we judged that correctly because we had enough great questions on enough interesting topics sent in by Reload Members to fill up one of our longest podcasts of the year. We discussed everything from the impacts of the National Firearms Act tax cut to the future of the NRA and the Department of Justice's strategy in Second Amendment cases.

Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I dive into the details on each question. We cover a huge variety of topics across every genre of gun coverage.

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I break down the key gun policy provisions included in House Republicans' new Department of Justice funding bill. We also unpack a new Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling tossing the NRA's free speech case against a New York official that pressured financial companies to cut ties with the group over its politics.

Last week, we talked about the political implications of the National Firearms Act (NFA) tax cuts in the budget bill. This week, we're talking about the market implications.

To do that, we've got the co-founders of Open Source Defense back on the show. In addition to running a smart publication on gun culture and politics, Kareem Shaya and Chuck Rossi also run a firearms business investment firm. They said the tax cut is likely to juice demand for silencers (more accurately known as suppressors), short-barrel rifles and shotguns, as well as guns in the "any other weapon" (AOW) category.

They looked at the recent surge in silencer demand related to last year's precipitous drop in registration processing times as a potential guidepost for how much demand may spike. Kaream noted suppressor sales were up 80 percent year-over-year between 20023 and 2024. He said demand could see a similar jump once the cut hits, although the six-month delay before that happens might depress the market in the meantime.

Meanwhile, Chuck argued that new demand would likely open up innovation in the space. He said he expects new companies will come in to try and produce mass market suppressors or even disposable ones. He said we could see renewed interest in short-barrel rifles and the long-neglected AOW category that leads to new breakout products.

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I break down a new lawsuit filed by gun rights advocates in the aftermath of the One Big Beautiful Bill that argues NFA restrictions are no longer lawful without its $200 tax. We also talk about Canada's ongoing difficulties in carrying out its now 5-year-old plan to confiscate semi-automatic firearms, as well as Colorado lawsuit that pits mass shooting survivors against a Second Amendment Sanctuary county.

This week, we saw a National Firearms Act tax cut make it across the finish line and into law.

Silencers, short-barrel rifles and shotguns, as well as firearms in the "any other weapons" category will now see a $0 tax in place of the previous $200 one. But not everyone in the gun world is happy about that. So, we have Cam Edwards of Bearing Arms back on the show to work through what the text does, why it ended up the way it did, and whether gun owners should consider it a win.

Cam noted the final text is not everything gun-rights activists had pushed for since the Senate Parliamentarian ruled full delisting was against the rules of budget reconciliation. He said he disagreed with the ruling and could understand why some gun-rights activists unsuccessfully pushed to fire or overrule her. However, he also said it was important to understand the politics of the situation in order not to be caught off guard by either one of those reasonably predictable outcomes.

Despite arguments to the contrary, Cam said the law should still be viewed as a win for gun owners. Perhaps an imperfect one, but one of the more significant at the federal level in a generation.

Special Guest: Cam Edwards.

Contributing writer Jake Fogleman and I provide an update on the status of Congress' cuts to the NFA tax for silencers and short-barrelled firearms as the bill gets close to passage. We also unpack the Department of Justice's decision not to appeal a Fifth Circuit ruling that invalidated the federal 21-year-old age minimum for purchasing handguns from licensed dealers.

This week, we're looking into a bit of a Second Amendment legal mystery.

Recently, a Fifth Circuit panel ruled silencers aren't "arms" and, therefore, don't enjoy constitutional protections. But then the Department of Justice (DOJ) changed hands and changed its mind on the case. In response, the panel took the unusual step of withdrawing its opinion. But we don't know what it plans to do next.

That's why we've got federal litigator and legal commentator Gabriel Malor back on the show to give his view on what may be coming. A lot of other commentators and several gun-rights groups have taken the withdrawal as a strong sign the panel plans to reverse itself on whether silencers, often called suppressors, are arms. But Malor said that's unlikely to happen.

He noted the DOJ's new position in the case doesn't actually argue silencers are arms, just that they enjoy some level of Second Amendment protection. He also said the panel thoroughly considered the arms question in its initial opinion and is unlikely to reverse, given no new facts or arguments are being presented. Malor also pointed out the panel addressed the basic argument DOJ is now backing and found it lacking, though it spent comparatively little time on that part of the case in its initial opinion.

He said the panel is likely going to delve a bit deeper into the DOJ's new argument before returning the same basic ruling.

Special Guest: Gabriel Malor.