Stephen Gutowski on the Supreme Court’s AR-15 Case, Trump’s Gun Record, and the ATF’s New 4473 Rules

Stephen Gutowski returns to A Better Way 2A to break down some of the biggest gun-policy stories happening right now.

We start with the Supreme Court’s decision to take up challenges to assault-weapons bans, including Connecticut’s law, what the case could mean for AR-15 restrictions around the country, why magazine bans are a separate question, and how years of litigation could finally reshape one of the longest-running fights in American gun politics.

We also get into why AR-15s occupy such an outsized place in both gun culture and the gun-control debate, what the data actually tells us about rifles and violent crime, and how media coverage can shape the public’s understanding of firearms.

Then we turn to the ATF’s proposed changes involving sex at birth on Form 4473, why trans gun owners and FFLs are concerned about how those rules could work in practice, and whether gun regulation is being pulled into a much larger culture-war fight.

Finally, Stephen gives his assessment of the Trump administration’s record on gun policy so far, including its Second Amendment lawsuits, ATF changes, personnel choices, conflicts within the administration, and the difference between looking narrowly at gun policy and taking a broader view of civil liberties.

Stephen is the founder and editor of The Reload and one of the country’s most dedicated reporters covering firearms, gun policy, and the courts.

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Edited by Matthew Boerger