August 13, 2026

Thursday Bulletin – August 13, 2026 Executive Director's Message Richard Pearson Judge: Short-Barreled Rifle, Suppressor NFA Registration Scheme Unconstitutional Press Release by Matt Coffey, media contact, Second Amendment Foundation - SAF.org. BELLEVUE, Wash. — Aug. 5, 2026 — A judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has ruled that the remaining registration scheme for short-barreled rifles and suppressors in the National Firearms Act (NFA) is unconstitutional in Jensen v. ATF, a case supported by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF). Since 1934, the NFA required anyone who wished to purchase certain classes of firearms, including silencers and short-barreled rifles, to pay a $200 tax and register the firearm with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), purportedly drawing from Congressional authority to levy taxes. Through the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, however, the tax on these arms was eliminated but the registration...

August 6, 2026

Thursday Bulletin – August 6, 2026 Executive Director's Message Richard Pearson A Brief History Of The Winchester Junior Rifle Corps President Theodore Roosevelt established the National Matches and the Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice in the Appropriations Act of 1903. The Appropriations Act also established the idea of state associations to promote marksmanship. The purpose of those associations was to train civilians in marksmanship prior to service in the United States Army. The Illinois State Rifle Association was formed almost immediately thereafter, making it the first, or one of the first, associations formed. When Roosevelt was forming the First United States Volunteer Cavalry in 1898, he discovered that the best marksmen were in the civilian population, not the United States military. His goal was to enshrine principles of marksmanship in civilian groups, not the military. It worked. Excellent marksmanship is not a skill learned in a few hours—it...

July 30, 2026

Thursday Bulletin – July 30, 2026 Executive Director's Message Richard Pearson Civilian Marksmanship Program Announces Sale Of M14s Excerpt from Article by Cam Edwards of bearingarms.com  To read the entire article, CLICK HERE. The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) has offered military surplus rifles for sale to members of CMP-affiliated clubs for many years. After approvals from the Army and ATF, it has been announced that the CMP will soon start selling over 100,000 historic M14 rifles to American citizens with the first sales now expected to occur in late 2026. The CMP revealed that the rifles will be modified to be "permanently and irreversibly semi-automatic rifles," and will be "fully compliant with CMP enabling legislation authorizing the transfer and sale of military surplus .30 caliber rifles." This could open the door to apply the same logic to the millions of surplus 5.56 firearms (M16A1, A2, A4s, etc.) in military storage,...