Chief Justice Roberts Is Not Defending The Second Amendment—He Is Containing It

New York – Let us dispense with the pleasantries.

The United States Supreme Court’s handling of Second Amendment cases is not “confusing,” not “complicated,” and not the product of innocent happenstance. It is, rather, the predictable output of discretionary power being used to avoid decisive confrontation with state defiance of the Court’s own landmark rulings.

And in that avoidance, the Second Amendment is being bled—slowly, methodically, and with a degree of institutional self-protection that should alarm every citizen who understands what the Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms is, and what it is for.

This companion article is necessarily short. The full argument is set forth in our original Arbalest Quarrel article, (Chief Justice Roberts Is Strangling The Life Out Of The Second Amendment) which we urge you to read in full. But the essentials are plain enough, and they must be stated plainly.

The Battle Is Not Only In The Merits—It Is In The Docket

Most Americans do not understand that the Supreme Court is not a forum of automatic justice.

The Court selects what it will hear. It grants or denies petitions for writs of certiorari at its discretion. And although Supreme Court Rule 10 pretends to supply a neutral architecture for that discretion, the reality is that Rule 10 functions as a judicial escape hatch—a convenient justification for declining the very cases that demand intervention.

In no domain is this more destructive than in Second Amendment litigation.

If the Court refuses to take the cases that matter, then Heller, McDonald, and Bruen become museum pieces—praised as “historic” while states openly devise end-runs around them in real time.

A Right that cannot be enforced is not a Right in any serious sense. It is a slogan.

The “Rule Of Four” Is Real—But The Strategy Is Realer

We discuss at length in the original article the Supreme Court’s so-called “Rule of Four”—the traditional practice that four Justices may grant certiorari.

This is not a trivial procedural detail. It is supposed to preserve the integrity of the Court’s appellate function by ensuring that a substantial minority may bring a matter before the Court for decision on the merits.

But in Second Amendment cases, the deeper reality is this:

Those Justices who cherish the Natural Law Right codified in the Second Amendment do not, as a general matter, vote to grant review unless they believe they have the votes to win.

And those who detest the Right will happily grant review when they believe they have five votes to shred it.

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NRA sues the NRA Foundation.

Synopsis:

NRA is suing its charitable arm (the Foundation), accusing the Foundation’s leadership of trying to do their own thing instead of benefiting the NRA, and diverting money intended for NRA programs into other things.

Specifically, there’s $160 million that the NRA says the Foundation promised donors would go to NRA education programs, but now the Foundation is trying to cut off funding and run its own competing programs.

Other accusations involve changing the bylaws improperly, making the Foundation’s trustees “self-perpetuating” (self-electing), and cutting the NRA out of any say in who the Foundation’s people are.

gov.uscourts.dcd.288159.1.0

I would have called the rifles ‘Phoenix’ as it’s Anderson rising from the ashes.

Ruger Rings in New Year with Re-Engineered Harrier AR Rifles

alling its new AR-pattern guns a “completely re-engineered line of modern sporting rifles,” Ruger announced the arrival of its Harrier line of AR-pattern guns on New Year’s Eve.

The new 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem AR-15s are manufactured at Ruger’s recently acquired Hebron, Kentucky, factory – i.e., the now-defunct Anderson Manufacturing in disguise. There will be two models on offer to start in 2026.

Model 28600 comes with a mid-length gas system, Magpul MOE-K2 grip, Magpul DT Carbine stock, and a handguard with a full-length STANAG-spec top rail. Model 28601 will offer a carbine-length gas system, classic A2 grip, M4 collapsible stock, and a light-profile handguard, minus the full-length top rail.

“Introducing Harrier rifles marks an important step in advancing the quality and performance of our modern sporting rifle line,” said Todd Seyfert, Ruger’s president and CEO. “Ruger Harrier rifles combine the rugged reliability Ruger is known for with modern adaptability, making them an ideal choice for shooters seeking precision, durability, and customization – and we are excited that this is only the beginning.”

Ruger Harrier Rifle
The Harrier Model 28600 sporting Magpul furniture is on the top. The lightweight Model 28601 with the interrupted top Picatinny rail is on the bottom. (Image: Ruger)

Both Harriers feature free-floated 15-inch handguards with M-LOK slots. They are made with forged 7075 aluminum upper and lower receivers that meet mil-spec standards. The guns are finished with a Type III hard-coat anodizing.

The triggers are a GI single-stage affair with a standard left-side safety selector and flat trigger guard. One unique twist is an integrated tension screw that enables users to fine-tune their upper-to-lower fitment.

Other mil-spec features include the carbine buffer tube with a staked castle nut and a recoil spring with a carbine-weight buffer.

The guns come with 16.1-inch, black-nitride-coated barrels with a 1:8 twist and 1/2×28 TPI threads, topped with an A2 flash hider. The bolt carriers are also finished with black nitride and host a chrome-plated firing pin.

MSRP for the 6.6-pound Model 28601 comes in at $699. The Magpul-furnished 6.8-pound Model 28600 is set at an MSRP of $749.

Tim Walz drops out of Minnesota governor’s race amid fraud scandal

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has ended his reelection bid amid mounting pressure over a fraud scandal that has engulfed his administration in recent weeks.

The move comes days after a handful of Republican state lawmakers asked Walz to leave office, citing reports from a U.S. Attorney that, since 2018, at least half of the $18 billion paid through Minnesota’s 14 Medicaid waiver programs could be fraudulent, and after Republicans in Congress called on Walz to testify about his failure to address the crisis.

Walz, the former vice presidential candidate on Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign, cited the growing pressure as one of the reasons for his decision to leave the race, though he pushed back on claims that he has not adequately attempted to curb the crisis.

“As I reflected on this moment with my family and my team over the holidays, I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all,” he said.

“So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work,” Walz continued in the statement.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, head of the Democratic Governor’s association, commended Walz’ leadership and reasserted his confidence that, “no matter who decides to run,” Democrats would win the state in the 2026 governor’s race. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan group that analyzes state, federal and presidential elections, labels the Minnesota race as “likely Democrat.”

Walz has scheduled a news conference Jan. 5 at 1 p.m. ET to address his decision.

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Winston-Salem man shot, killed; investigators determine self-defense

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the county’s first homicide of 2026, which deputies say has been ruled a justifiable act of self-defense.

Deputies responded to reports of shots fired around 11 p.m. Thursday at a home on Hartman Plaza Court. When they arrived, they found a man who’d been shot multiple times.

Investigators said the man was rushed to the hospital but later died from his injuries. He has been identified as 54-year-old Floyd Leonard Denney of Winston-Salem.

After reviewing evidence, technology, and witness statements, and after consulting with the Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office, investigators determined the shooting was a justifiable self-defense homicide.

“Our prayers and our thoughts are always with those involved in such a tragic incident,” Sheriff Bobby F. Kimbrough Jr. said in a statement.

“People who object to weapons aren’t abolishing violence, they’re begging for rule by brute force, when the biggest, strongest animals among men were always automatically ‘right.’
Guns ended that, and social democracy is a hollow farce without an armed populace to make it work.
Wear a gun to someone else’s house, you’re saying,
‘I’ll defend this home as if it were my own.’
When your guests see you carry a weapon, you’re telling them,
‘I’ll defend you as if you were my own family.’
And anyone who objects levels the deadliest insult possible:
‘I don’t trust you unless you’re rendered harmless’!”
–L. Neil Smith