Gator's Guns Case Stuck in Limbo as Supreme Court Waits on Other Rulings
If you've been wondering why Washington Gun Law hasn't posted an update on the Gator's Custom Guns case in a while, William Kirk has an answer: there's nothing new to report because the case is effectively parked at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Snapshot
Kirk walks through five related Second Amendment cases the Supreme Court has been tracking, explaining that Gator's Custom Guns, the challenge to Washington's magazine-capacity ban, got held back while two assault-weapons cases, Vermont v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins, were accepted for argument. His main point: Gator's is on ice until those rulings land, likely in mid-2027.
Key points
- Five cases, one holding pattern: Kirk names Gator's Custom Guns, Duncan v. Bonta, NAGR v. Lamont, Vermont v. Cook County, and Grant v. Higgins as the cases the court has been tracking together since conference season.
- Oral argument set for December 2: Vermont and Grant, both assault-weapons challenges, were accepted for argument, while Gator's, Duncan, and NAGR were held pending those outcomes.
- GVR predicted for mid-2027: Kirk expects a ruling around late June or early July 2027, after which Gator's would be sent back to the Washington State Supreme Court to be reargued under whatever rules come out of Vermont and Grant.
- New Jersey ruling complicates things: Kirk flags Davenport v. JRPC, where the Third Circuit struck down New Jersey's magazine and assault weapon bans, directly conflicting with Washington's reasoning, prompting Gator's attorneys to formally ask the Court to take up the magazine issue now instead of waiting.
- History is not encouraging: Kirk notes that after the 2022 wave of GVRs following Bruen, none of the four remanded cases ultimately changed outcome in the lower courts.
Quick take
This is a clear-eyed procedural explainer, not a victory lap. Kirk lays out exactly why the silence on Gator's doesn't mean the case is dead, just dormant, and tempers expectations about what a remand will actually accomplish given the track record of past GVRs.
Watch the full video: Washington Gun Law