Everytown for Gun Safety Worried by 'Reckless' Supreme Court Cases Challenging Ban on AR-15s
Everytown for Gun Safety Worried by ‘Reckless’ Supreme Court Cases Challenging Ban on AR-15s
Mike Bloomberg-affiliated Everytown for Gun Safety reacted to the Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) decision to hear cases challenging AR-15 bans by describing them as “reckless.”
Everytown, one of the more prominent groups in the gun control lobby, lambasted SCOTUS’s decision to take up “reckless gun lobby challenges.”
Everytown Law’s Janet Carter defended AR-15 bans, saying, “These laws are critical public safety measures, and they are consistent with the Second Amendment. Six federal appeals courts have rightly upheld assault weapon and large-capacity magazine laws, and we urge the Supreme Court to follow suit.”
Breitbart News reported that the two cases SCOTUS has agreed to hear — Grant v. Higgins and Viramontes v. Cook County — are consolidated and will result in a ruling as to whether AR-15 ownership is protected by the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.
The Second Amendment Foundation is a plaintiff in both cases:
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) noted there are over 32 million AR-15s and other rifles the left describes as “assault weapons” in circulation today, explaining that the precedents set forth in “Heller and Bruen… clearly hold that firearms in common use are protected by the Second Amendment.”
And AR-15s and similar rifles did not suddenly come into common use yesterday. On July 21, 2022, Breitbart News pointed to NSSF data showing there were already more AR/AK-style firearms in circulation “than Ford F-Series trucks on the road.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. He enjoys reading Philosophy and novels by Jack Carr and Nelson DeMille. He is a lever action man in an AR-15 world. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at [email protected].
Pirates Make Drastic Lineup Changes Before Phillies Game
Pirates Make Drastic Lineup Changes Before Phillies Game
The Pittsburgh Pirates have an almost entirely new lineup vs. the Phillies.Dominic Campbell|
In this story:
Pittsburgh PiratesPHILADELPHIA — The Pittsburgh Pirates are coming off an offensive outburst in their first game vs. the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, but they will have numerous new hitters in this contest.
The Pirates have no purely left-handed batters in the second-game of a four-game series vs. the Phillies on June 30, with seven right-handed batters and two switch-hitters making up the nine players in the lineup.
Pittsburgh makes this surprising decision after they came back from a 5-0 deficit and took down Philadelphia, 11-5, which saw them hit three home runs and have a six-run fifth inning.
It's a drastic move from the Pirates, but one that comes with them facing one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Why Pirates Made These Lineup Changes
The Pirates will face Phillies left-handed starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez in this game, who's dominated opposing hitting in 2026.
Sánchez ranks first in baseball with a 6.05 K/BB, second with 110.1 innings pitch, tied-second with nine wins, third with 127 strikeouts and a 1.72 BB/9, fourth in ERA (2.13) and 10th in K/9 (10.39).
He had his best start this season and one of the best starts of his career against the Pirates at PNC Park on May 17, throwing nine scoreless innings for a complete game, allowing just six hits and posting 13 strikeouts.
The Pirates have also not hit left-handed pitchers as well as right handed pitchers, slashing .242.305/.381 for an OPS .687 against southpaws and .265/.349/.435 for an OPS of .784 against righties.
Pittsburgh's only switch hitters are left fielder Bryan Reynolds and Endy Rodríguez, who makes his first start of the season at first base.
Reynolds is finishing off another incredible month of June in his career, slashing .305/.400/.547 for an OPS of .947, while also possessing the longest on-base streak in MLB at 34 games.
He has also hit great against southpaws in 2026, slashing .316/.412/.551 for an OPS of .963, even better than he hits righties, slashing .271/.398/.435 for an OPS of .833.
The Pirates put their faith in Rodríguez as their every day catcher and he's produced offensively, slashing .271/.404/.482 for an OPS of .886 in 31 games.
He doesn't have a hit in 11 at-bats against left-handed pitchers this season, with three walks and five strikeouts, but Kelly trusts Rodríguez can hit them and will come through.
“Sánchez is tough and just trying to get as many righties in as we can. He’s really tough on the lefties and Endy’s been swinging the bat really well.”
New Pirates Lineup vs. Phillies
Player | Position | Batting Side |
|---|---|---|
Konnor Griffin | Shortstop | Right |
Esmerlyn Valdez | Right Field | Right |
Bryan Reynolds | Left Field | Switch |
Marcell Ozuna | Designated Hitter | Right |
Nick Gonzales | Second Base | Right |
Endy Rodríguez | First Base | Switch |
Jared Triolo | Third Base | Right |
Billy Cook | Center Field | Right |
Henry Davis | Catcher | Right |
Konnor Griffin will play shortstop after serving as designated hitter in the series opener vs. the Phillies, and bat leadoff for the third straight game.
Right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez will bat second, the highest he's ever done in the major leagues. Valdez has hit a home run in each of his past four games and has five hits in his last seven at-bats and three walks to one strikeout the last two games.
Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna comes back and hits fourth after not starting the past two games and has hit well in June, slashing .294/.351/.471 for an OPS of .822.
Nick Gonzales comes back in at second base and hits fifth, Rodríguez bats sixth, Jared Triolo moves to third base and hits seventh and Henry Davis comes in at catcher, while batting ninth
Billy Cook makes his seventh start of the season and will play in center field, while batting eighth in the lineup. It is his first start since he also started in center field vs. the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 19.
Published 2 minutes ago
DOMINIC CAMPBELLDominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.
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