After losing in federal court, Delaware tries to resurrect its unconstitutional bans on self-manufactured firearms by pretending they're something else. FPC fires back.

WILMINGTON, DE (November 12, 2026) — Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced today that it filed an opposition brief in its Rigby v. Jennings lawsuit, fighting Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings's attempt to overturn FPC's landmark federal court victory against the State's unconstitutional bans on possessing and manufacturing so-called "ghost guns."

In September, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware held that Delaware's bans on possessing unserialized firearms and unfinished frames and receivers, as well as its prohibitions on manufacturing and assembling firearms at home, violate the Second Amendment. The decision followed FPC's earlier 2022 victory securing a preliminary injunction against the same restrictions.

Rather than accept its defeat, Delaware filed a motion asking the court to reverse its judgment and restore the unconstitutional prohibitions.

In its latest brief, FPC argues that Delaware's motion is nothing more than an improper attempt to relitigate issues the court has already decided, relying on recycled arguments and misrepresentations of what the State's laws actually prohibit.

At the center of Delaware's latest maneuver is its claim that the challenged laws merely impose "minimal, objective" serialization requirements. But as FPC explains, that's simply false. Delaware's laws prohibit peaceable people from making and assembling their own firearms—even if the resulting firearms would be serialized. The laws also prohibit future possession of unserialized firearms and unfinished components, with no general pathway to compliance.

"Delaware lost in federal court, and now Attorney General Kathy Jennings wants a do-over so the State can keep imposing its immoral and unconstitutional gun bans," said FPC President Brandon Combs. "Let's be clear: Delaware criminalized peaceable people for making and possessing their own firearms, and now it's trying to pretend these outright bans are just harmless paperwork requirements. That's complete nonsense. Delaware's anti-gun politicians can keep lying and making excuses, but they cannot rewrite the Constitution or erase our victory. FPC and our Grassroots Army aren't giving back an inch. We will continue to Fight Forward until these unconstitutional bans are eliminated nationwide, period."

In its motion, Delaware pointed to recent legislation that provides certain existing owners with a six-month period to serialize previously possessed firearms or render them permanently inoperable. But that law, enacted before the court's September 10 decision, does nothing to eliminate the State's prospective prohibition on self-manufacturing firearms. Nor does it protect FPC's members, like individual plaintiffs John Rigby and Alan Knight, who were forced to relinquish firearms and components they lawfully owned before the State enacted its bans and who wish to reacquire them.

Delaware also tried to revive its argument that unserialized firearms may be banned because criminals sometimes misuse them. But as the court already recognized, the presence or absence of a serial number does not change how a firearm functions, and Delaware failed to demonstrate that self-manufactured firearms pose dangers that other firearms do not. The Second Amendment does not cease to protect commonly possessed arms simply because criminals sometimes misuse them.

FPC's Rigby victory builds on its historic en banc Third Circuit victory in Cheeseman v. Davenport, which established important precedent protecting commonly possessed arms against categorical government bans. The district court relied on that controlling precedent in rejecting Delaware's restrictions.

The Rigby case is part of FPC's nationwide strategy to eliminate unconstitutional restrictions on the right to acquire, manufacture, and possess protected arms. FPC is also litigating challenges to restrictions on firearm self-manufacturing and possession in other states, including Oregon, Nevada, and California.

Through its latest filing, FPC asks the court to reject Delaware's attempt to undo the judgment and preserve the permanent injunction protecting the People from the State's unconstitutional possession and manufacturing bans.

The Rigby plaintiffs are represented by Bradley P. Lehman of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLC and David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson, and William V. Bergstrom of Cooper & Kirk, PLLC.

FPC thanks its Grassroots Army members and supporters for making its litigation, research, and other programs possible. Individuals who want to join FPC and support its work to restore liberty throughout the United States can join the FPC Grassroots Army at JoinFPC.org.

About Firearms Policy Coalition

Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) is a nonprofit membership organization that exists to create a world of maximal individual liberty and eliminate unconstitutional gun control laws. FPC works—and wins—for the People through high-impact strategic litigation, groundbreaking research, legislative and regulatory advocacy, grassroots activism, education, and public engagement. FPC’s legal division, FPC Law, is the nation’s leading initiative dedicated to restoring the right to keep and bear arms across the United States. To learn more about how FPC is working—and winning—for the People, sign up for FPC news alerts at firearmspolicy.org and follow FPC on X, Instagram, and Facebook.