The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled on Apr. 29 that machine guns are not protected under the Second Amendment, referencing the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller.
The court’s decision is significant because it clarifies how federal law treats machine guns and related devices, affirming that these weapons can be regulated or banned without violating constitutional rights.
In United States v. Maxon Alsenat, the defendant was convicted under federal law for possessing a machine-gun conversion device after police said he tried to sell three ‘Glock’ switches to an undercover officer. Alsenat pleaded guilty but reserved his right to appeal on constitutional grounds, arguing that recent Supreme Court decisions should allow him to possess such devices since he had no felony convictions. The court rejected this argument and upheld his conviction.
Chief Judge William Pryor wrote the opinion, joined by Judges Brasher and Abudu, relying heavily on District of Columbia v. Heller: “the Second Amendment protects weapons ‘typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes’ but does not extend to ‘dangerous and unusual weapons.’” Pryor cited Heller’s description of machine guns as arms that could be banned and stated it would be “startling” if federal restrictions were unconstitutional.
Alsenat argued that more recent cases like New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen changed the analysis, but Pryor said neither Bruen nor United States v. Rahimi altered Heller’s holding about dangerous and unusual weapons being outside Second Amendment protection.
Alsenat may seek further review from either an en banc panel or potentially from the U.S. Supreme Court; however, observers say a different outcome is unlikely given current precedent.
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