Another Federal Court Tosses Machine Gun Possession Charge
A U.S. District Court in Mississippi dismissed a machine gun possession charge, citing it didn't jibe with American history and tradition regarding the right to keep and bear arms.
The ruling came this week in the case of the
U.S. vs Justin Bryce Brown, with Brown challenging his machine gun possession charge. As he had never been previously convicted of a felony, he argued that the Second Amendment protected him from criminal prosecution under the federal government's statutes. U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves, a 2010 appointment to the federal bench by President Obama, agreed.
Citing the
2022 Bruen standard of a gun law being "consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation," Reeves dismissed the charge against Brown.
A similar unregistered machine gun possession case, that of Tamori Morgan –
which was similarly tossed by a federal court in Kansas last August – though an outlier that is under further appeal by the Justice Department, was also referenced by Reeves in his decision on Brown, saying, "But outliers can nevertheless be instructive and correct, so long as they are faithful applications of the law."
The government's case was centered on the assertion that machine guns are "dangerous and unusual," and Reeves picked apart this last claim.
The
Morgan case raised the point that more than 740,000 machine guns were lawfully possessed in the U.S. in 2021. Reeves ran with that figure in an argument that points to more common use.
"Seven hundred and forty thousand is no small number," said Reeves. "The government presents no argument or explanation for why such a large figure is somehow not common. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines common as, among other things, 'widespread.' Three-quarters of a million of any kind of firearm is plainly widespread."
Reeves also pointed out that Brown did not appear to be a threat to public safety, despite the machine gun charge.
"To be clear, though, there is no record evidence that Mr. Brown is dangerous," wrote Reeves. "He’s never been convicted of a felony. More than four months passed between his indictment and his arrest, which suggests that he didn’t pose any particular danger to public safety. And when he was ultimately arrested, the Magistrate Judge held the initial appearance and arraignment, and promptly released Mr. Brown on an unsecured bond. The government didn’t object to his release. The government also did not oppose Mr. Brown’s motion to travel outside of the district. For nine months, Mr. Brown has continued to live in the free world without any known concern."
