Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Expanded Gun Rights in the U.S. Virgin Islands?

Monday, February 3, 2025

Expanded Gun Rights in the U.S. Virgin Islands?

The reelection of Donald Trump as President of the United States hasn’t just signaled a return to sanity in the White House when it comes to the Second Amendment.  His outspoken support for our right to arms may be having a trickle-down effect on other executives in America, and not just in the more obvious places.

The governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands recently suggested that he’d like to see the jurisdiction’s gun laws made less restrictive under his leadership. This is a marked and welcomed departure from previous stories we’ve brought you from this American territory.

Governor Albert Bryan, Jr., told The Virgin Islands Consortium, “I think the Virgin Islands gun policy has totally failed.”  This was apparently in reference to the territory’s complex and stringent restrictions, which include not just licensing for all firearms, but different categories of licenses, depending on why you want a firearm and what kind you want.  There are also prohibitions on many types of firearms, and while a permit to carry is technically available, it is difficult to acquire, even though the territory is subject to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, which recognized a right to carry handguns in public for self-defense.

“I think we should move to a place where we open gun ranges that are legal and we make it easier for people to license and carry firearms,” Bryan said.  He suggested a lot of otherwise law-abiding residents may be carrying firearms illegally, simply out of concern for their own safety, and may be breaking the law because the current regulations are either too restrictive or too difficult to navigate,

 While we certainly do not encourage breaking the law, we do understand the frustration Virgin Islanders may feel when it comes to exercising their right to self-defense.  It’s the same frustration felt by many who live in overly restrictive states or cities in the Continental U.S.

Bryan did suggest some provisions that NRA-ILA does not support. But his general themes of lowering burdens and making it easier for well-intentioned residents to comply with the law and have access to ranges are laudable.

He praised law enforcement for doing well with “finding and confiscating illicit weapons,” but still noted, “What we are doing is not working.” 

Indeed, that is the first step toward sensible gun policy: recognizing that restricting the rights of the law-abiding to defend themselves will not deter or impede, and may instead encourage, predatory criminals.

Simply put, what does work is empowering the good guys, not the bad guys. To the degree the Virgin Islands adopts that philosophy, they will be moving in the right direction.

TRENDING NOW
Update: North Carolina House Reschedules Veto Override Vote

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Update: North Carolina House Reschedules Veto Override Vote

Today, the House rescheduled the veto override vote on Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to Monday, September 22. 

Court Dismisses “Lawfare” Claims Against Maryland Gun Dealers

News  

Monday, February 24, 2025

Court Dismisses “Lawfare” Claims Against Maryland Gun Dealers

“Lawfare” is the misuse of the legal system to damage political or business opponents, either through frivolous lawsuits in which the cost of defending becomes too much to bear or through the pursuit of political ...

Arkansas Atrocity Highlights Need for Reform in Rules Governing Carry in Public Parks

News  

Monday, August 25, 2025

Arkansas Atrocity Highlights Need for Reform in Rules Governing Carry in Public Parks

On the heels of the shocking and seemingly random murder of a couple in an Arkansas state park while they were walking a trail with their young children, many are revisiting their self-defense plans in the great ...

Everytown Gun “Safety” Course—Step One: Don’t Own a Gun

News  

Monday, August 25, 2025

Everytown Gun “Safety” Course—Step One: Don’t Own a Gun

Our friends at the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) have reported that Everytown, an active and well-funded anti-gun organization, is now purporting to be branching out into teaching gun owners how to safely handle firearms.

Third Circuit Sua Sponte Takes NRA’s “Assault Firearm” and Magazine Ban Case En Banc

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Third Circuit Sua Sponte Takes NRA’s “Assault Firearm” and Magazine Ban Case En Banc

Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs v. Attorney Gen. New Jersey is an NRA-supported challenge to New Jersey’s prohibitions on so-called “assault firearms” and magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds.

Florida: Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday Signed by Governor

Monday, July 7, 2025

Florida: Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday Signed by Governor

Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed the Florida Budget for Fiscal Year 2025–2026, which includes a Second Amendment sales tax holiday from September 8 through December 31, 2025. The NRA is thankful for Governor DeSantis’ strong ...

Florida Urges SCOTUS to Grant Cert in NRA’s Challenge to its Young Adult Purchase Ban and to Rule its Own Law Unconstitutional

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Florida Urges SCOTUS to Grant Cert in NRA’s Challenge to its Young Adult Purchase Ban and to Rule its Own Law Unconstitutional

In May, the National Rifle Association petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear NRA v. Glass, our challenge to Florida’s ban on firearm purchases by adults under 21.

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Massachusetts’s “Assault-Style” Firearms Ban

Thursday, August 21, 2025

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Massachusetts’s “Assault-Style” Firearms Ban

Today, the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners’ Action League, Pioneer Valley Arms, three NRA members, and another individual filed a lawsuit challenging Massachusetts’s ban on “assault-style” firearms.

Tenth Circuit Holds New Mexico’s 7-Day Waiting Period Unconstitutional in NRA Case

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Tenth Circuit Holds New Mexico’s 7-Day Waiting Period Unconstitutional in NRA Case

Today, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held New Mexico’s seven-day waiting period for firearm purchases unconstitutional in Ortega v. Grisham, a case brought by the National Rifle Association and Mountain States Legal Foundation, with the ...

Minnesota: Governor Tim Walz Signs Anti-Gun Bill Into Law

Friday, May 31, 2024

Minnesota: Governor Tim Walz Signs Anti-Gun Bill Into Law

On May 24th, Governor Tim Walz signed House File 5247, a large omnibus bill that included a provision that bans certain firearm triggers. The effective date for the trigger ban is set for January 1st ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.