In the summer of 2022, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling that reshaped the meaning of gun rights in America. While the decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. v. Bruen struck down a portion of New York’s concealed carry law, its implications extended far beyond the Empire State — and the issue of concealed carry. It was the biggest gun rights ruling in a generation, upending Second Amendment law and imposing a constitutional test that transformed how lower courts evaluate firearm regulations.

Since the decision was issued, federal courts have ruled on more than 1,600 Bruen-based challenges to gun laws and regulations. The Trace’s Chip Brownlee has been tracking these cases, and, among other things, he’s found that:

  • Although the constitutional test laid out in Bruen was ostensibly meant to limit judges’ discretion on gun cases, it’s made federal courts even more of a political battleground, where gun laws rise and fall along partisan lines.
  • The vast majority of rulings answered Second Amendment challenges brought by criminal defendants, most seeking to have a gun charge dismissed or a conviction overturned; civil challenges, though fewer in number, tend to be more successful.
  • The federal law banning people convicted of felonies from possessing firearms has been challenged more than any other gun restriction.

Brownlee created an interactive database of these cases that will continue to be expanded with additional details and regular updates. You can explore that here.

From The Trace

What to Know This Week  

Luigi Mangione, the man suspected of killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was found with a partially 3D-printed ghost gun at the time of his arrest, per police — allegedly the same firearm used in the fatal shooting. Arrests linked to 3D-printed guns have tripled in recent years. Our 2021 explainer breaks down what you need to know about these weapons. [USA TODAY] 

A federal bankruptcy judge halted the sale of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s Infowars media platform to The Onion, a satirical news site, saying that the sealed bidding process lacked transparency and that he was concerned the winning bid “did not maximize value.” Proceeds from the court-ordered sale of Jones’s platform will help pay nearly $1.5 billion in damages to families of Sandy Hook victims who won defamation lawsuits against Jones over his false claims that the 2012 school shooting never happened. The Onion’s bid was backed by some Sandy Hook plaintiffs. [The Washington Post] 

Minnesota and New Jersey are suing Glock, one of America’s most popular brands of handguns, claiming that the company failed to change its 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistols to make them more difficult to modify with switches, devices that slot into Glock handguns and enable them to fire like fully automatic machine guns. Minnesota’s suit cites Trace reporting, including a September story in which experts said Glock has several possible, if costly, solutions to the issue. [The New York Times]

In Illinois, agencies that investigate fatal police shootings and other deaths at the hands of law enforcement are required to “publicly release a report” if no charges are brought against officers, a measure instituted as part of a broad package of police reforms in 2015. But vague wording in a paragraph of the provision has resulted in a patchwork system that leaves transparency up to local officials — meaning many cases stay in the dark. [IPM News] 

In 1988, Rochelle Yates’s 5-year-old son, Marcus, was shot and killed in Southwest Philadelphia. His death gripped the city, and by 1990, two suspects were convicted and serving life sentences without parole. Thirty years later, Yates met with one of the convicted men and learned that the police account of Marcus’s murder wasn’t what it seemed — and now, Yates is on a mission to free him. [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

We’re hiring: The Trace is seeking applicants for its one-year editing fellowship. Learn more and apply here.

In Memoriam 

Shilynn Alford, 15, had a big heart — her family remembers her as a loving sister and aunt, someone who was always happy. Shilynn was shot late last month in Cleveland; she died two days later. She had celebrated her birthday earlier in November. Shilynn loved drawing and basketball, and could often be found shooting hoops with friends at the recreation center where loved ones gathered for her vigil. She was the type of person who would tell it like it is, a friend said, “but she was always fun.” Teachers described her as an outstanding student who brought a sense of community to her school, and “just such a sweet girl.” “She loved our family, and I just want her to be remembered for who she was, and not just for this incident,” a family member said. “She cared about all of us.”

We Recommend 

Breakdown in Maine

A one-hour documentary investigates the 2023 massacre in Lewiston — the deadliest shooting in Maine’s history — and the missed opportunities to prevent it. [FRONTLINE, the Portland Press Herald, and Maine Public] 

Pull Quote

“I have so few memories of our lives before, and I don’t have anyone left to fill in the gaps. I’m the last one. Instead of memories, I have documents. People in my shoes should not have to pay and wait and fight and appeal for answers, for knowledge about the loved ones they’ve survived.”

— Jessica Brown, whose older brother and sister were shot and killed when she was in college, on her 25-year fight to learn the details of their murders, writing for The Trace

Sunny Sone
Sunny is in charge of our newsletters, leading the growth of existing products and dreaming up new ones. They previously worked as a copy editor at The Intercept and as digital editor for the Texas Observer, and co-published a web-only magazine under the Brick House media cooperative. Sunny has covered topics ranging from the Texas funeral industry to the life of visionary composer Pauline Oliveros. They hold a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.