Glock Bans are Bad Enough, but It Doesn't End There

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00][clears throat] [music] >> A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Welcome to another edition of Bearing Arms Cam & Company. My name is Cam Edwards. Glad you're with me on the program today.

[00:00:18]Going to be spending some time with John Commerford and Ray Isle executive director talking about primarily the new lawsuit filed in Maryland.

[00:00:27]Honestly, I mean it's one of those cases we've seen a couple of this recently where the lawsuit was filed before the ink is even dry on the governor's signature of an anti-gun bill. The challenge to Virginia's ban on so-called assault firearms and large-capacity magazines.

[00:00:44]That lawsuit, multiple lawsuits filed I think within 5 minutes of the announcement that the governor had signed those bills into law.

[00:00:51]Same thing in Maryland where Governor Wes Moore signed a bill this week that will ban the sale of Glock handguns and other striker-fired handguns with the cruciform trigger bars.

[00:01:02]Going forward, these items will not be available for sale in the state of Maryland. We've seen similar legislation adopted in California. It's under consideration and will probably become law very soon in New York and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signing a similar legislation on Wednesday, day after Governor Wes Moore did the same in Maryland on Tuesday. So, this is part of a concerted effort. You know, in addition to the laws, we also have lawsuits that have been filed.

[00:01:34]Mayor of Chicago, Mayor of Baltimore, I think the city manager in Seattle.

[00:01:39]There may be a couple of others out there as well. And again, seeking to halt the sale of some of the most popular handguns in the country because criminals are illegally converting them to fire full auto.

[00:01:57]And so, rather than go after the criminals, we're going after the gun maker. We're telling lawful gun owners, you can't have these items. Unless you're law enforcement, of course, right? Because because law enforcement is exempt from all of these bans. In Maryland, in California, in New York. Yeah.

[00:02:16]Not that, you know, police have never had firearms stolen.

[00:02:20]Right? No, never ever. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:02:24]It's again, here is not to stop the police from having firearms. The gun control lobby would never do such a thing. They're they're the only ones, frankly, that uh the gun control lobby is happy uh allowing the to have a firearms. It's about you and I.

[00:02:41]It's about banning commonly owned firearms. It's about trying to do an end run around the Heller decision. And it's about opening the door to other bans.

[00:02:48]The ban on Glock is bad enough because it is one of the most popular uh handguns in the country, whatever, you know, model you're talking about.

[00:02:57]The Glock brand is one of the most popular in the country.

[00:03:01]But it doesn't stop there.

[00:03:04]If they can get away with doing this with Glock, they're going to look to do this with as many other types of firearms as they possibly can.

[00:03:13]Uh which is why one of the reasons why this new litigation is so important.

[00:03:18]Take a look and have a listen. John, thanks so much for coming to the program. It's good to see you again.

[00:03:22]>> Yeah, thanks for having me.

[00:03:23]>> And the uh legal team has been busy this week. Uh boy, a number of lawsuits filed, but uh I want to talk about what's going on in both Maryland and Connecticut, uh where we have seen these bills to uh to ban the sale of Glock and other striker-fired handguns uh going forward.

[00:03:40]Uh the NRA has already sued over Maryland's law that uh Governor Wes Moore signed on I think it was Tuesday, right? I mean, you guys sued within minutes uh along with your partners in that case.

[00:03:52]>> Yeah, we were ready to go with our friends at uh Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition. And look, in Connecticut, in Maryland, and what we've seen in California, and even in in New York on these so-called Glock bans, it's it's the stereotypical blue state governor who is attacking law-abiding citizens for the acts of criminals. We're not focused on prosecuting gangbangers and criminals in uh blue cities that are crime-ridden who illegally convert these commonly owned semi-automatic pistols into illegal machine guns. Uh but no, we're instead we're just going to ban wholesale the most one of the most popular models of semi-automatic pistol in the nation because of the acts of those very criminals. Um it's their playbook. It's been their playbook for for decades now, and it's going to be their playbook in the future, and that's why we got our lawsuit out because really the only way to teach them a lesson with the makeup of these states is to remind them what the Constitution says, and have the courts defend that Constitution.

[00:04:59]>> Yeah, and because it doesn't stop here, either. I mean, if you look at what the gun control lobby has been doing in civil litigation, they've argued that AR-15s and other modern sporting rifles are readily converted to machine guns, right? This is essentially the same argument they're making against Glock.

[00:05:15]Uh that well, because you can illegally convert them to fire full auto, uh that there's a problem with the firearms as they're designed, as they are manufactured, and as they are sold.

[00:05:25]So, if they can get away with doing this with Glocks and other striker-fired pistols, this is exactly what they're going to try to do to ban AR-15s and other semi-automatic rifles.

[00:05:37]>> Look at it this way. I mean, the the left uses marketing terms, and we've seen this time and time again, right?

[00:05:43]Assault weapon. Uh uh, ghost gun.

[00:05:47]Then it was the Glock switch. And then, I believe truly these governors just want to use these terms at their pulpit while they stand up there at the dais and and preach about how we should be living our lives, how we shouldn't have firearms. They just They just don't like the way, uh, Second Amendment supporters and freedom supporters live their lives and and defend themselves and their families with the firearm of their choice. So, uh, they stand up there and they portray these terms. But, uh, let's go back to the courts really quick. You know, I I see some frustration in the comments across, uh, you know, various forums and social media from gun owners related to inaction from the courts. And And I share in that frustration. We just saw the Duncan case, which is NRA's case, out of California was relisted again.

[00:06:33]We've seen, uh, the denial of cert time and time again on hardware cases. But, you have to keep going. And you have to keep filing these cases. And this is why it's so important to protect the Senate firewall this fall because two more years of confirmed judges can make a heck of a lot of difference when it comes to restoring our freedoms. Look what happened in the Third Circuit with gaining a conservative majority and the unique move that they made on the hardware case and then gaining another vote, theoretically, uh, because we don't know until we know, uh, the day before the the oral arguments on Bot.

[00:07:11]So, while there can be frustrations with SCOTUS, we don't actually know what their exact formula is that they look for because those doors are closed. Even though I'd love to be a fly on the wall, we could we could save a lot of money, uh, by knowing exactly what they want to hear. But, you know, the chances are there. We have to keep going. And we'll even take the circuit court wins. Uh, so that's why you don't know what'll happen in the Fourth Circuit, in the Third Circuit, in the Second Circuit. Uh, you have to keep confirming those judges and changing the majorities on those courts, uh, in the interest of freedom and that's how we'll ultimately win and send a message to governors like Lamont and West Moore and Newsom and and others.

[00:07:51]>> Will will NRA be filing suit in Connecticut? I again, I know that you guys have already launched a lawsuit in against Maryland's Glock ban, but will you be doing the same in Connecticut?

[00:08:01]>> We're looking at Connecticut. We're looking at New York as well. I mean, I think sometimes folks fail to understand that ultimately the goal here is to get these to the Supreme Court so you have case law that is precedent nationwide, not just in a circuit or in a district.

[00:08:15]So a case from Maryland, if it goes to the Supreme Court, will have the same impact as a case from the first circuit or the third or the second circuit or third, etc. So but we are looking at it right now. You know, I think the lawyers from from our team, from SAF, from FPC and others, I mean, these guys have have calloused fingers from typing up as many lawsuits as they've been working on because we're seeing the blue states entrench themselves in this anti-freedom, anti-constitution activity and we see the red states expanding to the maximum level of freedom. So it's this big divide that we've seen nationwide on a variety of issues, but in the end, it's it's not going to get fixed until the courts make that decision.

[00:08:58]>> Yeah, well, and you know, and to that end, let's quickly talk about another case that was filed this week challenging the ban on carrying in postal facilities. NRA teaming up with the Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation. And what's interesting is there's already litigation. We've already we have a good decision from a district court judge and the Trump administration decided not to appeal that decision, but as you say, we don't see nationwide injunctions issued anymore. So you can get a good decision at the district court level, even at the appellate court level, but it's going to apply typically to those named plaintiffs, maybe the institutional plaintiffs, right? So if you're an NRA member, you'd be protected. Um but in order to get these things these victories to apply nationwide, ultimately, you do need the Supreme Court to step in. Is that one of the reasons why uh even despite a a a victory uh in a in a previous uh case and in another circuit, um you're challenging the uh ban on carrying in post offices in Pennsylvania?

[00:09:59]>> Yeah, you need to have a broader ruling that that impacts everyone. Um you know, look, we saw that out of the 10th Circuit with our case in New Mexico uh where waiting periods were struck down.

[00:10:08]But that's just applying in the 10th Circuit at this point. So, we continue the fight on waiting periods because we need to beat those down uh nationwide.

[00:10:16]No one should be subject to a time time tax on a constitutional right. And you shouldn't be banned from defending yourself just because you go into a post office. So, it's this it's the same thing. And you know, but I think it's a great example to show, you know, the the viewers and listeners out here and the readers that there's a huge volume of Second Amendment cases being filed. I mean, the the pace at which cases are being filed now is unprecedented in our lifetimes related to this issue, partially due to our work in the Bruen case uh making this possible and showing us the way to argue these cases going forward. But mainly, it's due to the fact that the gun groups are working together. Uh whether that's GOA or SAF or FPC or others, you know, we're we're working together, which is really increasing the volume on what is possible in terms of these Second Amendment challenges. And that's going to continue. So, governors are are now facing multiple lawsuits from different groups or they're facing a really thought-out single lawsuit. And uh that allows four groups to file four separate lawsuits in different areas instead of four of the exact same lawsuit. So, we still see some of those legacy items in the Third Circuit where we were combined. Uh you know, NRA is the lead case there, but we're combined with other good cases Uh and the same thing in the seventh.

[00:11:35]Those are those legacy cases, but but going forward the volume is really stepped up and and the lawyers are doing a great job because all of us are working together and that's really everyone has the the Second Amendment at heart and it's in it's the best thing that we can do and keep moving forward.

[00:11:52]>> Yeah, I love to see that coalition building and I am I'm pleased again as you say that it allows for you know, more strategic litigation all across the country and that is going to benefit gun owners in the end.

[00:12:04]John, as always man, appreciate you joining me on the program. I know you got a busy day ahead of you, but always appreciate the chance to touch base and look forward to talking again in the very near future.

[00:12:13]>> Yeah, thanks for having me.

[00:12:14]>> My thanks once again to John for joining me on the program and thank you as well to Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

[00:12:26]You know, I I I mean it when I said I I love to see this coalition building taking place and it is fantastic to see these Second Amendment groups working together in a way that really we haven't seen in recent years and I hope that this continues. Looking forward to having the folks from GOA, SAF and FPC on the program in the near future and not to leave out the National Association for Gun Rights. They're doing some great work as well.

[00:12:53]All right, let's get to today's Armed Citizen story, our good deed of the day and our Recidivist Report. We'll start there with a case out of a Las Vegas.

[00:13:02]Now, this is I guess not a true Recidivist Report.

[00:13:08]I don't believe that this individual has previous criminal history.

[00:13:13]But, it is still a what the heck are you thinking story.

[00:13:20]Teen accused of planning Las Vegas mass shooting faces probation.

[00:13:26]Well, that'll teach That'll teach him.

[00:13:30]According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a teen accused of planning a mass shooting to quote kill all normies at a Las Vegas Valley library or school could receive probation under a negotiation with prosecutors.

[00:13:42]18-year-old Vincent Lamas must have inpatient mental health treatment before he is sentenced, a judge ruled on Wednesday. District Judge Mary Kay Holthus agreed that Lamas had otherwise complied with conditions of the plea deal hammered out by Chief Deputy District Attorney Eckley Keach and defense attorney Frank Kamuu.

[00:13:58]The judge said, "Keep doing what you're doing for now. We're trying to figure it out to keep you in line with the deal."

[00:14:03]And told the Lamas to report back to court on June the 10th.

[00:14:07]Lamas has been out on out of custody on electronic monitoring for several months, which is again, we've talked about the issues of electronic monitoring before.

[00:14:16]In March, he pleaded guilty to threatening to cause bodily harm or death to a pupil or school employee, conspiracy to commit assault with a deadly weapon, and battery constituting domestic violence.

[00:14:26]If he does not complete treatment, he faces up to a year in jail.

[00:14:32]He has to avoid 3D printers. He has to give up all firearms. He has to stay away from the College of Southern Nevada High School.

[00:14:41]According to court records, the teen who has depression and anxiety has experienced a suicidal ideation and emotional distress since he was in middle school.

[00:14:48]He was arrested back in February after a relative found a notebook in which he had written about wanting to attack a library during a kids club. He allegedly named eight targets and stated, "I'm doing it today, the massacre."

[00:15:00]He had also purchased a crossbow, an axe, a hunting knife, and other weapons from my Amazon.

[00:15:07]When he pleaded guilty, he agreed to undergo a risk assessment evaluating factors such as past violence, access to weapons, and untreated mental illness.

[00:15:15]Lamas in the evaluation reported growing up without a father.

[00:15:18]At age 13, watching his his die of cancer for which he blamed himself.

[00:15:23]Uh he said that he had been bullied, mocked, physically attacked by his peers who had called him a school shooter.

[00:15:29]You know, I I feel for this young man.

[00:15:33]I really do.

[00:15:36]Um my own youngest kids having lost their mom to cancer, not at 13, but not much older than that.

[00:15:43]Uh growing up without a dad.

[00:15:46]You know, uh there there are some similarities to the uh Parkland shooter in that regard. Right?

[00:15:52]Um at the very least uh you can say a a a an unstable home life.

[00:15:59]Add in the depression, the anxiety, the uh tormenting by peers.

[00:16:07]As I said, I feel bad for the kid. The young man, excuse me, he's 18 years old, he's not a kid.

[00:16:14]And I hope that this inpatient mental health treatment will will be helpful to him.

[00:16:28]I am concerned, however, that if it is not, that if Lamas is not really interested in getting help and in getting better, that the sentence that has been imposed, which again is essentially is nothing more than probation, is just going to be seen as an invitation to do harm.

[00:16:58]That that even the criminal justice system, even prosecutors, did not um treat him as seriously as he needed to be treated.

[00:17:11]Again, I hope that that's not the case.

[00:17:13]I have no influence on this plea deal.

[00:17:17]Um but I am concerned about the message that this sends not only to to Lames but honestly about the message that it sends to others out there who may be thinking about doing the same thing.

[00:17:30]So, we'll keep our eyes on this story.

[00:17:32]We'll uh let you know any updates there out of uh Las Vegas.

[00:17:35]Today's armed citizen story from I believe this is uh Memphis, Tennessee.

[00:17:41]Indeed it is uh North Memphis where a uh home owner fired shots at a burglar who broke into his uh house the other day.

[00:17:50]Um I'm not going to comment on the mug shot just because I mean look at me. I'm no supermodel either, but you make your comments if you want.

[00:18:00]Uh according to uh WREG in Memphis, the alleged burglar, 33-year-old Simeon Pratcher has now been charged with uh aggravated burglary and possession of burglary tools.

[00:18:12]The uh victim in this case told WREG that he is fed up with being a victim and it's time to fight back.

[00:18:20]According to authorities, they were called out to a shooting uh after a little bit after 1:30 a.m.

[00:18:27]Tuesday morning. When they got there, they found the resident inside the home.

[00:18:30]He had a revolver.

[00:18:32]Simeon Pratcher was lying face down on the bedroom floor uh uninjured, by the way.

[00:18:38]Uh Pratcher uh told officers that he broke into the home through a broken window because he didn't think anybody was there.

[00:18:43]Uh victim told officers that uh he was sitting in his living room when he heard someone come in through the front bedroom window which had been broken from a previous burglary.

[00:18:53]So, the victim, who's not named because he's a victim of crime, grabbed his revolver, walked into the bedroom. He saw Pratcher standing in the doorway. He said he fired two shots because he was in fear of his life.

[00:19:03]Um actually I I correct uh that the police did not name the uh victim, but uh WREG did. I guess he talked to them.

[00:19:11]Uh Kenneth Dixon is his name. He says his home has been broken into, his belongings have been stolen several times. And he said, "You know, he came in through the window, but he knocked some stuff over and I heard him." He said, "I was sitting right here watching a movie on my phone.

[00:19:22]And when I heard him, I grabbed my gun.

[00:19:24]Uh which Saturday night I had to go get from my brother." he said.

[00:19:28]He said, "I just popped a couple of shots off and uh he told me." Meaning uh the burglar.

[00:19:33]"Uh well, man." he said, "They they told me that don't nobody live here. They said you were dead."

[00:19:38]Nixon said, "I don't know if that's the story or what, but uh but still it's my house."

[00:19:42]Um He said the last time he called police to report a burglary, it took about an hour for officers to respond. He said, "Robbery in progress." He said, "To me, that should be like an emergency."

[00:19:53]Should be.

[00:19:54]Um but you know, we do still have uh shortfall of police officers in many jurisdictions.

[00:20:03]Um and you know, as the adage goes, when uh you're in you know, seconds count, uh help is minutes away, right?

[00:20:12]Uh Dixon said, "Uh I'm done." And he said, "Just stick a fork in me. It's fighting time." He said, "I got to fight back. I'm sorry. Y'all can take it any way you want to."

[00:20:20]After being uh burglarized repeatedly, he says he's worried about his safety, he's worried about his finances, and uh he refuses to be a victim any longer.

[00:20:31]Can't say I blame him. Um and in this case, sounds like uh he did the right thing.

[00:20:37]I would caution him, however. We have seen some examples in Memphis of people who have clearly acted in self-defense who have been charged with crimes.

[00:20:48]So, I uh I I hope that uh Mr. Dixon doesn't have to deal with this anymore.

[00:20:54]That uh burglars in the area have gotten the message that uh Kenneth Dixon is armed and to leave him alone, but uh I would just caution him. Make sure that you do have a reasonable fear of uh death or great bodily injury before you uh in self-defense because there are some prosecutors there in the Memphis area who'd be more than happy to uh try to put you behind bars for exercising your Second Amendment rights.

[00:21:18]Finally today, our good deed of the day in the right place at the right time will enable you to do the right thing. A uh man in uh Plainfield Township, Michigan who is uh being hailed as a hero after rescuing his neighbor from a home explosion that authorities believe was actually intentional, was a a murder-suicide attempt by the woman's husband who was apparently uh killed in the blast.

[00:21:48]Um his wife hospitalized in critical condition after she was rescued from the burning home by a neighbor Tim Johnson and a 17-year-old who uh lives in the area. Johnson said he heard a loud boom about 4:00 in the morning, ran outside, saw his neighbor's home just engulfed in flames.

[00:22:07]Said he called 911, but he didn't wait for fire crews to arrive. He he said he ran to the house. He said he could hear a woman yelling for help uh from inside the debris. He he said that she was walking and yelling, "Help me. Help me."

[00:22:21]He said, "I tried to get to her, but the flames kept pushing me back. I kept falling."

[00:22:25]He said, "I I knew I had to get her out of there. That's the only thing on my mind."

[00:22:29]Um that's when the 17-year-old showed up. The two of them were able to help pull the woman from the the woman from the flames.

[00:22:35]Uh Johnson suffered first- and second-degree burns to his head and his left arm while doing so, left arm.

[00:22:42]Um he said, "I'll be okay."

[00:22:44]He said, "She's what what was important." He said, "I just hope she recovers fully. That's what I'm hoping for."

[00:22:50]Absolutely.

[00:22:52]Um at this point police believe that uh natural gas was allegedly leaked into the home's basement.

[00:22:58]They're not entirely sure that that was the case, but again they do believe that this was intentional.

[00:23:03]Uh although they haven't uh said what evidence uh leads them to that conclusion.

[00:23:07]A neighbor though uh called Johnson a hero, said he literally saved her life.

[00:23:11]Said it took a very charismatic person to do what he did.

[00:23:15]Well, I I don't know that charisma has anything to do with it. Courage, certainly.

[00:23:20]Fortitude, uh absolutely. A willingness to uh sacrifice your own safety to protect others.

[00:23:29]Uh all of that displayed by uh Tim Johnson and that uh 17-year-old in the right place at the right time.

[00:23:34]Willing and able to do the right thing to help a neighbor in need there in Plainfield Township, Michigan.

[00:23:40]And that is going to do it for this edition of Bearing Arms Cam and Company.

[00:23:42]I want to thank you for being a part of the program. Mario the rooster thanks you as well. He just did that a little bit earlier. I think he's uh wandered off to another part of the yard here.

[00:23:49]Uh we'll be back on Monday with another edition of Cam and Company.

[00:23:54]Um I would encourage you though to check out bearingarms.com today, Friday, throughout the weekend.

[00:24:00]We're going to keep it up-to-date on all the latest segment of news and information. There is a lot of news and information coming out. We've got the waning days of the uh legislative session up in uh Illinois. Uh anti-gun activists are pushing really hard to get that rifle act uh to uh Governor Pritzker's desk. They're they're they're going to have to do all kinds of parliamentary tricks to do it.

[00:24:19]But they were sending busloads of anti-gun activists down to Springfield this week to a rally support for that bill, which hasn't really moved out of committee.

[00:24:28]But they wouldn't be holding a rally for this if they didn't think it was possible to suspend the rules, change the rules, do what you got to do to get this bill to the governor. So, we're keeping our eyes on that.

[00:24:39]We uh could see uh decisions from the third circuit we talked about with the John Comer for the New Jersey case. It's still out there. We're going to get a decision at some point.

[00:24:48]I don't know when, but maybe it'll be today. Maybe it'll be tomorrow. And maybe it'll have an impact on the uh Supreme Court and the hardware cases that are still uh pending there.

[00:24:57]Uh we're also looking at uh uh litigation elsewhere in the country, legislation in the states like California, uh and then of course the uh cultural attacks on gun ownership and our right to keep and bear arms. All of that to cover for you at bearingarms.com. If you like what you see, we'd also encourage you to become a VIP, VIP Gold or VIP Platinum member.

[00:25:19]Just go to bearingarms.com/subscribe, use the promo code fight and take 60% off your membership. No matter what your support you choose, you've got some great benefits and you'll be supporting the work we're doing at Bearing Arms. And so I want to thank you for that very very much.

[00:25:32]Have a great rest of your Thursday and we'll see you back here to on Monday, not tomorrow. Until then, be well, be safe, and be free.