Reality Check: The Courts Aren’t Coming to Save Your Gun Rights

While many Americans still believe the courts are the key to restoring liberty, gun rights leaders say it’s time for a reality check — because the courts aren’t coming to save you. That’s the blunt warning from Hannah Hill, Vice President of the National Foundation for Gun Rights, who says far too many liberty activists have fallen into the trap of thinking they can sue their way back to freedom.

“No. The courts are NOT coming to save you,” Hill said in a recent statement. “If you’re waiting for a judge to fix this country, you’re going to be waiting forever.”

According to Hill, too many well-meaning conservatives are convinced that “one big lawsuit” will topple gun control laws or fix deep-rooted corruption, when in reality, the legal system is stacked against liberty from top to bottom.

Judges Don’t Follow the Law — They Follow Ideology

Hill, who has spent years fighting unconstitutional gun control statutes in the federal courts, says the hard truth is that many judges don’t rule based on the law, facts, or even the Constitution — they rule based on politics. “Many judges don’t rule on the facts. They don’t rule on precedent. They rule on what they want,” Hill said. “And here’s a newsflash: most judges do not want to uphold liberty.”

She added that the judiciary has become a closed system dominated by leftist law school ideology and elitism, even among some Republican appointees.

“Judges are a special category of political awfulness,” Hill said. “They come from the same indoctrination camps that teach moral relativism and contempt for individual rights. Once they’re in, you can’t remove them. They’re immune to public pressure and they know it.”

Supreme Court? Don’t Count on It

Hill also warned that pinning hopes on the Supreme Court is a losing game. Out of thousands of cases filed each year, the Court agrees to hear only a handful, and even the biggest constitutional challenges, like so-called “assault weapons” bans, can sit for years without action.

“Trying to get a Supreme Court case heard is like trying to shoot a mosquito with a cannon,” Hill said. “We’ve filed multiple challenges to deep-blue states’ gun bans and so far, the Court has said ‘no’ to every one. You could wait years, even decades, for a ruling that may never come.”

Meanwhile, unconstitutional laws remain in force, and gun owners are left footing the bill.

Lawsuits Are Slow, Costly, and Dangerous

Hill explained that serious litigation can cost five or six figures and take years to move through the system. When plaintiffs lose — which is often — they can even be forced to pay the opposition’s costs. And while lawyers rack up hours, bad laws continue to destroy lives.

“The courts move at the speed of molasses and the bill grows every month,” Hill said. “If you’re suing to overturn an AR-15 ban, that ban stays in place while you fight it — sometimes for years. Meanwhile, your state becomes a gun-free zone.”

Acknowledging Victories, But Staying Grounded

Hill and other gun rights leaders readily acknowledge that some lawsuits are both necessary and effective, and that groups like the National Foundation for Gun Rights and the Texas Gun Rights Foundation have seen recent victories in the courtroom. But, Hill warned, those wins are never guaranteed. And many of the same battles could be won faster and at far less cost through strong legislative fights.

That’s exactly why Texas Gun Rights is working day and night to stop bad laws before they’re passed — while the Texas Gun Rights Foundation brings the same tough-as-nails, “no compromise” strategy into the courts when necessary.

“We’ll fight them wherever they come for us — in the legislature or in the courtroom,” Hill said. “But we’ll never rely on judges to do what only organized patriots can.”

The Real Solution: Mobilize and Confront

Hill says the answer isn’t more lawsuits, it’s more political firepower. That means mobilizing the grassroots to confront legislators directly, not waiting for a judge to do it for them.

“The Founders never intended the courts to drive the nation’s policy,” Hill said. “They gave us the power to control the people who make the laws — we just have to use it.”

Hill emphasized that lawmakers — unlike judges — are terrified of angry voters. That’s where the movement’s real leverage lies.

“If you want change, don’t waste years filing briefs,” she said. “Build lists, raise money, knock on doors, and recruit primary challengers to punish politicians who sell out your rights. That’s how you win.”

Hill’s message to activists is as clear as it is uncompromising: the courtroom isn’t the battlefield — the legislature is. The courts can delay tyranny, but only the people can defeat it.

“Freedom isn’t saved by lawyers — it’s saved by patriots who refuse to bow,” Hill said. “If you’re serious about defending the Second Amendment, stop waiting for permission and start fighting like our Founders did: loud, relentless, and unafraid.”

 

Chris McNutt is president of Texas Gun Rights.