Bloomberg Law Weekend Law: Trump, Pardons, Warrants & Guns
Oct 25, 2025
Andrew Willinger, a Second Amendment expert, discusses critical federal gun-possession laws and the evolving landscape of state restrictions after recent court rulings. Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor, highlights the complexities of the emergency-aid exception to warrant requirements, shedding light on ongoing Supreme Court deliberations. Tom Schoenberg reveals the surprising impact of presidential pardons on banking access, detailing how criminal histories complicate financial relationships.
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History Is Central Under Bruen
- Courts will wrestle with how closely historical regulations must match modern firearms restrictions under Bruen.
- Judges differ on the relevant time horizon, from founding-era laws up through Reconstruction and around 1900.
Contemporaneousness As A Defense
- Defendants press a contemporaneousness requirement: prohibition should apply when drug intoxication and gun possession coincide.
- Prosecutors often charge in egregious fact patterns rather than ordinary marijuana users.
States Flipped Private Property Defaults
- Several states flipped the private-property default, making carry prohibited on private premises unless owners opt in.
- These 'sensitive places' regimes limit where permit holders may carry by default rather than relying on signage to ban guns.