Duncan v. Bonta at SCOTUS, CRPA CCW Training & Marlin Camp 45 Home Defense

Duncan v. Bonta: Waiting on the Supreme Court

The biggest news in California firearms law right now is sitting in conference at the United States Supreme Court. Duncan v. Bonta, the long-running magazine capacity case, is at the stage where the Court decides whether to take it up. If four justices vote to grant certiorari, the CRPA legal team goes into full sprint mode immediately. Rick was clear that they have been working around the clock in anticipation, because once the word comes down there is very little runway before filings are due.

The stakes are substantial. A Supreme Court ruling on Duncan v. Bonta would not merely settle the California magazine ban. It would set a national standard on magazine capacity restrictions under the Second Amendment, potentially rivaling the Bruen decision in its reach. Rick called it second only to Bruen in its potential impact, and that is not a small claim. For Californians who have been watching this case work its way through the Ninth Circuit for years, the moment of decision may finally be close.

CRPA CCW Training Now DOJ-Approved for California

One of the quieter but more consequential wins the CRPA secured this year is DOJ recognition of their training program for California CCW licensing. The California Department of Justice acknowledged that CRPA is the only organization offering California-specific instruction for CCW instructors. That distinction matters in court. If you ever have to use your firearm and end up in front of a judge, the training your instructor received will be questioned. Where did they train? What were they taught? How was it delivered?

The CRPA program is built to close off every angle the opposition might use against a lawful gun owner in that situation. Rick’s framing was direct: know your enemy’s tactics, and seal those loopholes before they can be exploited. Anyone pursuing a CCW in California should take a hard look at the CRPA training program for exactly this reason.

Pro-Gun Bills Heading to Sacramento in 2026

For the first time in a long time, the CRPA is going on offense in the California legislature. Rick confirmed that more than a half-dozen bills with authors attached are moving forward, though he cannot go fully public with specifics until DO numbers are assigned in the new year. What he did say is that the bills were written deliberately to carry no negative financial implication for the state, which removes one of Sacramento’s most reliable kill switches for pro-gun legislation.

He was also candid about the broader landscape. In thirty years of fighting these battles in the capital, he has never seen two-year bills fall because of money. The financial argument gets used as cover, but it has never actually been the cause. The current fiscal pressure in Sacramento is self-inflicted, and it may create more room to maneuver than gun owners have seen in years. Rick encouraged shooters and gun owners to stay engaged and, if they have ideas for new shooting sports, to bring them in. There is money to be made developing and running range programs, and growing the community is part of how you defend it.

Which Gun Rights Organization Should California Owners Join?

A listener called in with a practical question: if budget is limited and you can only support one organization fighting for California gun rights, which one? The answer on the show was unambiguous: CRPA. The organization has been in the fight for 125 years and has been a partner with the Gunslinger Syndicated Radio Network almost from the beginning. If you are in California and want your dues doing real work in the courts, the legislature, and in training programs, crpa.org is where to put that dollar.

Marlin Camp 45 Carbine for Apartment Home Defense

The same caller had a follow-up question about his home defense setup: he lives in an apartment and owns several carbines, including a Marlin Camp 45. He wanted to know how effective that platform would be in a defensive situation inside a multi-unit building.

The Marlin Camp 45 is a semi-automatic carbine chambered in .45 ACP that feeds from 1911-style magazines. It is a reliable, compact firearm, and the host confirmed having owned one himself without a single malfunction across comparable round counts. The Camp 45 has a reputation for being finicky with magazines, but proper magazines and quality ammunition appear to resolve most of those issues.

The concern raised on air was not the gun itself but the environment. A .45 ACP round will punch through standard interior walls. In an apartment building, a missed shot does not stop at your neighbor’s drywall. The host’s standing recommendation for apartment home defense is a pump-action shotgun with the right load, and he promised to expand on that argument after the break. The reasoning is ballistic: certain shotgun loads, particularly lighter target loads or reduced-recoil buckshot, shed energy more quickly through walls than a pistol-caliber round does, reducing the risk of injuring neighbors. Knowing your backdrop is not just a range rule. In a residential building, it is a legal and moral obligation.

If you are sorting out a defensive firearms setup and want to consign or acquire the right tool for the job through a licensed auction house, Gunslinger Auctions handles transfers and runs live catalogs on HiBid and Proxibid.