Buckeye Reporter

A federal district court judge in Mississippi has ruled that the federal ban on private ownership of machineguns made after April 1986 is unconstitutional. The decision challenges the Hughes Amendment, which was added to the Gun Owners Protection Act (GOPA) in 1986 and closed the National Firearms Act (NFA) registry for new machineguns.

In 2022, Justin Bryce Brown was arrested for possessing unregistered machineguns manufactured after 1986. Facing a potential ten-year prison sentence, his lawyer filed a motion to dismiss the charges, arguing that the prohibition violated Brown's Second Amendment rights. Judge Colton Reeves granted this request, citing Supreme Court precedent.

Judge Reeves referenced the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision from 2022, which established a "new historical paradigm for analyzing Second Amendment claims." This approach focuses on using only the text, tradition, and history of the Second Amendment to assess gun law constitutionality.

The ruling required an examination of whether Brown was part of "the people" protected by the Second Amendment. As he is over 18, he qualifies as part of this group. The next consideration was whether machineguns are protected arms under this amendment. The Supreme Court's Heller decision permits banning "dangerous and unusual" weapons; however, Judge Reeves determined that while machineguns are dangerous, so are all firearms due to their potential to cause harm.

Judge Reeves further assessed if machineguns are "unusual," concluding they are not since there are over 744,000 privately owned machineguns in circulation. This number exceeds what courts have previously deemed sufficient for common use.

Lawyers for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) argued that only arms commonly used during the 1790s should be protected. However, Judge Reeves rejected this argument as it would allow banning any firearm not from that era.

Ultimately, Judge Reeves found Brown's actions constitutional but noted that his decision applies solely to this case. Mr. Brown will not recover his firearms or ammunition confiscated by police through civil forfeiture proceedings.

The ruling highlights ongoing debates about gun rights and interpretations of Second Amendment protections in light of historical context and modern applications.