A federal judge in Kansas has tossed out a machine gun possession charge and questioned if bans on the weapons violate the Second Amendment.
If upheld on appeal, the ruling by U.S. District Judge John W. Broomes in Wichita could have a sweeping impact on the regulation of machine guns, including homemade automatic weapons that many police and prosecutors blame for fueling
Broomes, an appointee of President Donald Trump, on Wednesday dismissed two machine gun possession counts against Tamori Morgan, who was indicted last year. Morgan was accused of possessing a model AM-15 .300-caliber machine gun and a machine gun conversion device known as a 鈥淕lock switch鈥 that can make a semi-automatic weapon fire like a machine gun.
鈥淭he court finds that the Second Amendment applies to the weapons charged because they are 鈥榖earable arms鈥 within the original meaning of the amendment,鈥 Broomes wrote. He added that the government 鈥渉as the burden to show that the regulation is consistent with this nation鈥檚 historical firearm regulation tradition.鈥
As of Friday, no appeal had been filed. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Wichita declined comment.
Federal prosecutors in the case said in earlier court filings that the 鈥淪upreme Court has made clear that regulations of machineguns fall outside the Second Amendment.鈥
A June 2022 Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen was seen as a . The ruling said Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.
Jacob Charles, an associate law professor at Pepperdine University who tracks Second Amendment cases, said the Kansas ruling is direct fallout from the Bruen decision.
鈥淚t gives lower court judges the ability to pick and choose the historical record in a way that they think the Second Amendment should be read,鈥 Charles said.
Charles expects Broomes' ruling to be overturned, citing Supreme Court precedent allowing for regulation of machine guns.
Eric Ruben, a fellow at the Brennan Center and an associate law professor of Southern Methodist University, agreed.
鈥淎s far as I know, this is the first time in American history that a machine gun ban has been found unconstitutional in its application,鈥 Ruben said.
Shira Feldman of Brady United Against Gun Violence, called the ruling 鈥渁n incredibly dangerous decision, and it鈥檚 inconsistent with what the Supreme Court has said the Second Amendment means.鈥
A message left Friday with the 春色直播 Rifle Association wasn't immediately returned.
Communities across the U.S. have dealt with a surge of shootings carried out with in recent years. These weapons are typically converted using small pieces of metal made with a 3D printer or ordered online.
Guns with conversion devices have been used in several mass shootings, including one that left four dead at a in Alabama last year and another that left six people dead in a , in 2022. In Houston, died in 2021 after being shot with a converted gun while serving a warrant.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported a 570% increase in the number of conversion devices collected by police departments between 2017 and 2021, the most recent data available, The Associated Press reported in March.
