It appears that President Donald Trump’s pick for a judge heading to the U.S. Ninth Circuit has a five-year membership to the International Defensive Pistol Association and, therefore, likely has some extensive experience with firearms. Eric Tung of California is Trump’s nominee as of the July 30 nomination hearings before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

Tung faced an hours-long interrogation during his nomination hearing. Tung was picked as a possible successor to the retiring Judge Sandra Ikuta, an appointee of President George W. Bush, who just recently penned the majority opinion against California’s unconstitutional scheme forcing background checks for all ammo purchases in the state.

In its post on the social media platform X, the Firearms Policy Coalition this week first noticed that Tung’s nomination questionnaire had a strikingly singular membership record dating back to 2020.
 

Aside from his apparent relationship with competitive shooting, Tung’s résumé also includes clerking for Justices Antonin Scalia and Neil Gorsuch. He came to his nomination hearing backed by several letters of support that included lists of 2012 Supreme Court clerks, Justice Gorsuch’s law clerks, and additional 2017 Supreme Court clerks.

While it’s generally preferred that judges have some level of experience with the matters they oversee in the courts, it’s rare to see someone with a notable shooting background heading to one of the nation’s highest benches. 

There are a few exceptions, such as Ninth Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, who went so far as to record a scathing rebuke of his colleagues in his recent dissent against the Duncan v. Bonta decision, which upheld California’s ban on “large-capacity” magazines. 

That video featured VanDyke in his office with an AK-type rifle hanging on the wall. The video speaks best for itself, so enjoy: