NEW ORLEANS (June 4, 2025) – Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced the filing of an important legal brief urging the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court’s decision dismissing the government’s case against someone charged with violating the federal ban on machine guns, ultimately holding that the ban cannot pass muster under the Second Amendment. FPC joined FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF) and the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) as parties to the brief.
“Heller already explored the relevant history and found that the only way to ban possession of a firearm is by demonstrating that it is ‘dangerous and unusual’ and therefore unprotected by the Second Amendment,” the brief explains. “Because the government did not demonstrate that machineguns are unusual it has not met its burden.”
“The Fifth Circuit should fully and faithfully apply the Supreme Court’s controlling Second Amendment test. The government did not meet its burden in this case, and the district court’s dismissal should be affirmed,” said FPC President Brandon Combs.
“The weapons at issue here are unquestionably bearable ‘arms,’ so the Court must perform the required historical inquiry. At that point, the relevant question is if machineguns are in common use for lawful purposes today,” explained attorney and FPCAF President Cody J. Wisniewski. “We hope the Fifth Circuit will consider the relevant history and affirm the district court’s decision.”
FPC thanks attorneys Joseph G.S. Greenlee and Erin M. Erhardt of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, as well as FPCAF’s Wisniewski, for their excellent work on this important brief.
Individuals who want to support FPC’s work to eliminate unconstitutional laws across the United States can join the FPC Grassroots Army at JoinFPC.org.
The brief in United States v. Brown can be viewed at firearmspolicy.org/legal.
About FPC
Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit membership organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. We work to achieve our strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs. Our FPC Law program is the nation’s preeminent legal action initiative focused on restoring the right to keep and bear arms throughout the United States. For more on FPC’s lawsuits and other pro-Second Amendment initiatives, follow FPC on X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.
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