Attorneys General Push Back on Anti-Gun Lawfare, Outline Constitutional Strategy at SHOT Show 2026

AmmoLand ^ | January 21, 2026 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

Attorneys General Forum held at the 2026 SHOT Show

The Attorneys General Forum was held at the 2026 SHOT Show on January 21, 2026. Eight Attorneys General were present. From left to right, they were: Montana AG Austin Knudsen (wearing cowboy hat); Missouri AG Catherine L. Hanaway; Iowa AG Brenna Bird; West Virginia AG John B. McCuskey;  Kansas AG Kris Kobach; Louisiana AG Liz Murrill; Arkansas AG Tim Griffin; and Florida AG James Uthmeier.

The discussion started with a question about the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, the PLCAA.

Montana’s AG, Austin Knudsen, answered: Yes, the Supreme Court had made the PLCAA clear, but lawsuits against firearms companies for criminal actions of others are not about the law; they are about lawfare, using lawsuits to damage the firearms industry by the costs of continual lawsuits. This appeared to be a consensus among the AGs present. The lawsuits are being used as political tools. Those bringing the lawsuits do not expect to win.

There was considerable discussion of the Supreme Court and the cases it has and has not taken. There was general dissatisfaction with the relatively small number of cases the Supreme Court took.  Kansas AG Kris Kobach made the case for the enormous progress that has been made since 2008, compared to the previous 70 years. He suggested that the originalists on the court are being very careful to build a lasting legacy for the Second Amendment.

Several Attorneys General commented that there were possibilities to build cases against anti-gun organizations, bringing these lawsuits on the basis of fraud, false statements in fundraising emails, or conspiracy to defraud based on those false statements. In Montana, for example, the state AG has broad authority over non-profits.

---

TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: 2a; ag; ar; banglist; fl; io; ks; la; lawfare; mo; mt; wv

[marktwain]

State Attorneys General have considerable power and discretion as an elected official. These red state AGs discuss how to use their power to support limited government and the Second Amendment.

[marktwain]

[Sacajaweau]

If you take a gun to a protest...you're asking for trouble....both "rights" and "responsibilities" come into play.

The FACT that his father told him not to do anything stupid....says a lot. Tells me Alex was "hot" and must have been spouting off in front of his parents.

[Carry_Okie]

The Stetsons remind me of the crowd in Reagan's A Time for Choosing speech.

[Nextrush]

The Second Amendment doesn’t apply in certain situations according to the POTUS.

All these years all the strong defense of the 2A tossed for the sake of one man.