2A Weekly: A Stranger Steps In - And a Court Finally Says the Quiet Part Out Loud
2026-10-20 by Brass Kisses
October 20, 2026 - Sheridan, Wyoming
Welcome back to the loudest roundup in ammo. This week an armed citizen in Georgia reminded everybody what carrying is actually for, a federal appeals court said "peaceable citizens" out loud in a published opinion, and we read the NFA fine print so you don't learn it the hard way. Let's go.
POSITIVE 2A STORIES - The Push
He didn't know her. He stepped in anyway. On October 1 at a Dollar General in Valdosta, Georgia, a man attacked his girlfriend inside the store - struck her in the head, then hit her teenage daughter when she tried to protect her mom. A 28-year-old customer drew his firearm to stop the assault; when the attacker rushed and struck him, he fired once. Mom and daughter got away. Police confirmed on October 12 the customer faces no charges, and Valdosta Police Chief Leslie Manahan publicly praised him for stopping the attack and preventing further injuries (AmmoLand, Oct 14, via WCTV and WALB). That's not a movie. That's a Tuesday afternoon errand and a citizen who refused to watch. This is why we carry - not for ourselves half the time, but for the stranger in aisle five.
And in George County, Mississippi, a man being beaten by an attacker wearing brass knuckles defended himself October 9; police called it a self-defense shooting from the first look (NRA's Armed Citizen, Oct 19, via WLOX).
2A WINS
The Third Circuit drew the line - on the right side. On October 13, the Third Circuit ruled the federal lifetime gun ban cannot be applied to Edward Williams, whose only priors were early-2000s DUI convictions. Judge Paul Matey called Williams "a peaceable citizen, capable of bearing arms consistent with the design of the Second Amendment" (Fox News, Oct 14). Straight talk, because we keep it honest here: the same court, same day, upheld the ban for James Bost, whose prior was a violent carjacking conviction. That's the line - violence loses the right, a 20-year-old DUI doesn't erase it forever. We can live with that line. The Constitution can too.
SCOTUS let a nonviolent-felon win stand. On October 5 the Supreme Court declined to disturb a Fifth Circuit ruling that the felon-in-possession ban was unconstitutional as applied to a man whose only felony was simple drug possession (United States v. Hembree - LISA legal update, Oct 13). The "peaceable citizen" doctrine is spreading circuit by circuit.
2A ISSUES / THREATS
The NFA fine print: 15 states still have strings attached. The ATF stopped enforcing NFA registration on suppressors and short-barreled rifles October 9 - but 15 states wrote federal registration into their own statutes: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin (AmmoLand, Oct 13). In some of them, a paperwork-free can could still be a state crime. Bright spot: Mississippi's AG already issued an opinion that Form 4 is voluntary there. Know your state before you buy. Freedom's back at the federal counter - read your own state's label first.
Massachusetts votes on Question 9 - November 3. Bay State voters decide whether to repeal Chapter 135, the sweeping 2024 gun law; "no" repeals it. A September MassINC poll had it 70-18 to keep (Axios Boston, Oct 13). Steep hill. Doesn't matter - it's the first time voters anywhere get a direct up-or-down on a post-Bruen omnibus gun law, and the serialization deadline lands October 28, six days before the vote. If you've got people in Massachusetts, make sure they know what Question 9 is.
2A DEBATES
Who exactly does the NFA injunction protect? The DOJ told the Texas court October 12 that ATF's open letter already answers the scope question - ATF "will no longer enforce the challenged NFA provisions against anyone" - while arguing the injunction itself doesn't independently cover everybody (AmmoLand, Oct 13). Meanwhile in Missouri's Brown v. ATF, DOJ filed October 7 opposing statewide and nationwide relief; a status conference is set for October 22 (AmmoLand, Oct 8). Translation: the practice is free, the law is still in court. That's why nobody should treat enforcement discretion as permanent.
Is 17 rounds a "large-capacity magazine"? SCOTUS heard that one. In Beaird v. United States, argued October 13, the question is whether sentencing commentary defining "large-capacity" as more than 15 rounds - which sweeps in half the double-stack pistols in America - deserves deference (LISA, Oct 13). Watch this one; it's sleepier than the Dec 2 AR-15 cases and could matter plenty.
Still waiting: the Massachusetts SJC's "suitability" ruling (Pratt v. Westbrook, argued Oct 7 - TheGunMag, Oct 14) and Judge Kane's Colorado waiting-period decision. Also on deck: the Seventh Circuit hears Illinois's suppressor ban October 28 (Anderson v. Raoul, same TheGunMag report).
BRASS KISSES CORNER
Rifle seasons are winding down across the West. Last weekends, make them count. We are in discussion with the War Banner Foundation about ways to serve the veteran community together. 43 days to December 2, when the Supreme Court hears the AR-15 cases. We will be loud about it. Find Brass Kisses at a dealer near you on our Where to Buy page.
Kiss My Brass.