9th Circuit Judge Asks SCOTUS to Discipline Own Court's Gun Rulings
Ninth Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke publicly urged the Supreme Court to 'benchslap' his own circuit's rulings on Second Amendment cases, signaling deep judicial infighting over gun policy that threatens to further erode gun safety laws.
A sitting federal appeals judge is openly asking the Supreme Court to discipline his own colleagues for upholding gun safety laws. Judge Lawrence VanDyke's extraordinary public request—calling for 'benchslaps' against the Ninth Circuit's rulings—reveals a judicial campaign to dismantle gun violence prevention measures from within the courts. This is not a neutral legal argument; it is an activist push, aligned with the current administration's amicus brief against Illinois' assault weapons ban (DOJ filed in 2026), to expand Second Amendment protections beyond any historical precedent. The result would be more guns in public spaces, more weapons of war on streets, and more preventable deaths—particularly in communities of color, who bear the brunt of gun violence. The real story is not a judge's frustration with his court, but a judicial power play to overturn democratically enacted gun safety laws through Supreme Court intervention.
The humanitarian alternative
Rather than weaponizing judicial rhetoric to undo gun safety laws, the federal government should invest in evidence-based violence prevention: fund community violence intervention programs, strengthen the national background check system, close the 'gun show loophole,' and support the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in enforcing existing laws. The Supreme Court should respect decades of precedent allowing reasonable gun regulations that save lives, and judges should refrain from using their platforms to lobby for outcomes that increase public risk.
Falsifiable predictions
What this entry claims will happen, and what data would prove it wrong. The Reckoner revisits these against current reality.
- Within 12 months, the Supreme Court will grant certiorari in at least one Ninth Circuit gun case that VanDyke criticized, and rule to strike down the challenged gun safety law.
Original source — excerpted
news Judge Urges SCOTUS to Give ‘Benchslaps’ for 9th Circuit’s Gun Rulings"U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke is urging the Supreme Court of the United States to issue some “benchslaps” for his own c..."