Gun-Rights Groups Tell Sixth Circuit the NFA’s SBR Registry Is Unconstitutional

A Sixth Circuit brief says 1.17 million registered SBRs are protected arms and that the federal registry rests on a 1934 drafting accident—not American historical tradition. IMG Jim Grant

One-tenth of an inch can separate an ordinary rifle from a federal felony. Now four major gun-rights organizations are asking the Sixth Circuit to explain how that arbitrary line can coexist with the Second Amendment.

The National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, and American Suppressor Association filed an amicus brief July 13 in United States v. Machamer. Represented by NRA attorney Joseph G.S. Greenlee, the groups argue that short-barreled rifles are protected arms and that the National Firearms Act’s registration scheme fails the Supreme Court’s history-and-tradition test.

What Happened in United States v. Machamer?

The case began with a January 2024 federal search of Christopher Machamer’s North Canton, Ohio, home and a safe at his parents’ residence. According to the FBI, agents recovered multiple AR-style rifles with approximately 9.25-inch barrels, unserialized receivers, a drill press, two CNC mills, suppressors, handguns, and other firearms. Machamer later pleaded guilty to five counts and received a sentence exceeding five years.

The constitutional question on appeal is narrower than every allegation against Machamer. The amici expressly address only 26 U.S.C. §§ 5812, 5841, and 5861(d)—the NFA’s approval, registration, and possession provisions as applied to SBRs. They do not address his separate charges for making firearms.

Amici Say SBRs Are Protected Arms

The district court rejected Machamer’s Second Amendment challenge after concluding that SBRs were “unusual or dangerous” and therefore not “Arms” covered by the Constitution. That formulation does two things the amici say Supreme Court precedent forbids.

First, Heller, Bruen, and the Court’s recent Wolford v. Lopez decision establish that the plain-text inquiry asks whether the government is restricting a bearable arm. Courts cannot load historical limitations into that first step to spare the government from defending its law. Second, the traditional exception covers weapons that are both “dangerous and unusual,” not dangerous or unusual.

Short-barreled rifles are hardly unusual. The brief reports 1,178,348 registered SBRs as of June 8, 2026, and says they may be lawfully possessed in 45 states. Americans use them for home defense, hunting, and recreational shooting. Their shorter barrels make them more maneuverable than standard rifles, while their stocks make them easier to control accurately than handguns.

The NFA’s “Historical Accident”

The amici also demolish the mythology surrounding the NFA’s barrel-length cutoff. The legislation that became the NFA did not originally target SBR possession. The minimum rifle-barrel length was added as a safe harbor after lawmakers worried that the bill’s concealable-firearm language might accidentally impose a steep tax on ordinary hunting rifles.

“The NFA’s application to short-barreled rifles was thus a historical accident and not a necessary measure to keep arms away from criminals,” the brief argues. It adds that “no one mentioned a short-barreled rifle having any criminal use” during the relevant Senate hearings.

The government’s supposed historical analogues are even less persuasive. Prosecutors cited a 1631 Virginia census that recorded arms alongside corn, cattle, hogs, goats, boats, gardens, and orchards. But that census helped ensure colonists could comply with laws requiring them to possess and carry firearms. A colonial gun mandate is not a federal gun registry.

Other examples concerned selling arms to hostile foreign powers, proof-testing defective barrels, and inspecting gunpowder storage. None required peaceful Americans to submit fingerprints and photographs, obtain advance federal permission, and enter their rifles into a national registry under threat of felony imprisonment.

Miller, Wolford, and the Trump DOJ

The government also leans on United States v. Miller, but that 1939 case concerned a short-barreled shotgun, not a rifle, and the defendant never appeared or presented evidence. More importantly, Heller and Bruen focus on arms in common use today. Constitutional protection is not frozen according to whatever evidence was missing from an uncontested record nearly 90 years ago.

AmmoLand readers have watched the NFA’s foundation weaken since Congress reduced the transfer tax on SBRs, suppressors, short-barreled shotguns, and AOWs to zero. The registry survived even after its revenue rationale disappeared. Machamer now presents the Sixth Circuit with the criminal-law consequence: a paperwork regime without historical support can still send an American to federal prison for many years.

FPC President Brandon Combs put the political stakes directly on the Trump administration.

“The Trump DOJ wants courts to treat the Second Amendment like a second-class right instead of a full constitutional guarantee,” Combs said. “Fundamental rights are not privileges to be sold back to Americans through special taxes and bureaucratic permission slips.”

That is the question now before the Sixth Circuit. Can Washington turn a commonly owned rifle into contraband unless its owner receives bureaucratic permission, when the government cannot identify a comparable American tradition?

The answer should be no. A drafting accident, a livestock census, and laws against arming foreign enemies cannot justify registering American citizens—or imprisoning them for refusing to ask permission before exercising a constitutional right.

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About Duncan Johnson:

Duncan Johnson is a lifelong firearms enthusiast and unwavering defender of the Second Amendment—where “shall not be infringed” means exactly what it says. A graduate of George Mason University, he enjoys competing in local USPSA and multi-gun competitions whenever he’s not covering the latest in gun rights and firearm policy. Duncan is a regular contributor to AmmoLand News and serves as part of the editorial team responsible for AmmoLand’s daily gun-rights reporting and industry coverage.

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GOA Warns ATF’s Gun Dealer Rule Rollback Still Leaves Gun Owners Exposed

ATF’s proposal would remove the Biden rule’s formal presumptions, but GOA says it still leaves gun owners vulnerable to the same underlying enforcement theories. iStock-1398682785

The ATF’s proposed rollback of the Biden administration’s “Engaged in the Business” rule would eliminate its formal presumptions against gun owners—but it would not provide the clean break many expected.

Published in the Federal Register on May 6, the proposal would remove the provisions that presumed certain firearm sales constituted unlicensed dealing. It would also discard Biden-era restrictions on what qualifies as a personal collection. At the same time, ATF says conduct previously covered by those presumptions may still be considered circumstantial evidence when determining whether someone is dealing firearms without a license.

That distinction is now drawing opposition from Gun Owners of America, one of the plaintiffs that secured the nationwide vacatur of the Biden rule in Texas v. ATF on June 12. GOA argues that removing the presumptions while preserving some of the agency’s underlying enforcement theories leaves gun owners exposed to another round of regulatory abuse.

“ATF has proposed a replacement rule that claims to ‘rescind’ the Biden rule, but in reality keeps key parts of its legal framework in place,” GOA warned in a June 29 action alert.

The proposed regulation is not yet final, and the 2024 rule it would revise has already been struck down. The dispute is therefore no longer about whether the old rule survives. The dispute is whether ATF’s proposal fully restores the pre-Biden limits or, as GOA contends, preserves enforcement theories the Texas court rejected. Gun owners have until August 4, 2026, to submit comments on the proposal.

Why GOA Says Gun Owners Still Face Risk

In an action alert, the GOA said the initial rule “tried to twist the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to impose backdoor universal background checks by redefining who counts as a ‘dealer.'” It then flagged that the replacement “claims to ‘rescind’ the Biden rule, but in reality keeps key parts of its legal framework in place and leaves gun owners exposed.”

The objection rests on an admission the ATF makes openly. While the agency vows to drop a handful of Biden’s presumptions and pare back a few definitions, it states outright that “some sections of the Biden rule will be retained.” To GOA, that means the real threat never went anywhere.

“ATF still treats everyday behavior by gun owners as suspicious: keeping a simple list of your firearms, reselling the same model within a short window, or even just offering to sell a firearm can be used as evidence that you are ‘engaged in the business’ without a license,” the group wrote.

It pressed further, noting that “the agency continues to push the idea that intent alone can be enough evidence to prosecute law-abiding gun owners as illegal firearms traffickers, despite the court’s ruling and the clear limits Congress placed in law.”

GOA refuses to accept any surviving fragment of the regulation. “The rule must be rescinded in its entirety,” the organization declared.

The group is also arming members with a prewritten letter to fire off to regulators before the comment window shuts. That letter brands the proposal as “a recycled version of the Biden Administration’s effort to impose backdoor universal background checks through executive action rather than legislation,” language the group ties to “a clear breach of trust with America’s law-abiding gun owners.”

The message ends by pushing the ATF to “withdraw this proposal and issue a new rule that faithfully follows the plain language of federal law, respects the rights of law-abiding gun owners, and clearly rejects the flawed legal theories that federal courts have already rejected.”

Texas Court Vacated the Biden Rule Nationwide

The frustration stems from the dispute’s origins. Back in 2024, the Biden ATF signed off on a rule that sharply widened the pool of people counted as firearms dealers required to carry a federal license and process background checks. The agency built its case on the Safer Communities Act of 2022, which had already scrapped the older livelihood test and opened the door to labeling anyone who sold guns for profit a dealer.

From there, the ATF layered on rebuttable presumptions, casting routine acts like logging your own firearms, flipping the same model, or listing a gun for sale as proof of dealing without a license. GOA challenged the measure at once, and the group credits a Texas federal judge with striking down the entire rule for reaching past the authority Congress granted.

Trump’s return to the White House prompted his DOJ to draft a substitute. In late April 2026, freshly confirmed ATF Director Robert Cekada unveiled a sweeping slate of proposed rules, one purporting to cancel the “Engaged in the Business” regulation.

At first glance, it resembled an outright triumph. The catch lives in the details of the replacement, which the agency logged in the Federal Register on May 6, 2026. The filing confirms portions of the abandoned rule will remain, which means recording a personal gun collection, reselling one model inside a narrow window, or advertising a firearm for sale can still be turned against an owner, while the agency clings to the position that intent by itself justifies a trafficking charge, a theory the courts have already discarded.

GOA’s central grievance is direct, since scrapping only part of a rule amounts to no repeal. Because a federal court already voided the Biden regulation, the group contends the ATF has no legal ground to salvage a portion of it under a new title, a tactic GOA sums up as changing the wrapper while protecting the contents.

Gun Owners Have Until August 4 to Comment

The comment stage matters for reasons that reach past routine participation. Each remark becomes part of the formal administrative record judges pore over once a rule lands in court, so complaints lodged today can later show the agency ignored serious objections and behaved arbitrarily under the Administrative Procedure Act. GOA is pressing gun owners to seize the chance before it closes. “If ATF doesn’t listen, these comments build the record that will be used in future legal challenges,” the organization wrote. “Let ATF know that gun owners expect real change, not a recycled version of Biden’s universal background check rule.”

The lesson for gun owners is plain, since a rule that survives in fragments still binds the same law-abiding Americans it targeted from the start. Nothing short of a full repeal honors the plain text of federal law or the rights the Constitution already guarantees.

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About José Niño

José Niño is a freelance writer based in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can contact him via Facebook and X/Twitter. Subscribe to his Substack newsletter by visiting “Jose Nino Unfiltered” on Substack.com.

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Maryland Defends Glock Ban by Treating Common Pistols Like Machine Guns

Maryland is defending SB 334, which will block future sales and transfers of many Glock and Glock-style pistols beginning January 1, 2027. IMG Duncan Johnson

The constitutional fight over Maryland’s Glock ban comes down to one question: Can the state ban law-abiding citizens from acquiring some of America’s most popular handguns because criminals can illegally modify them with an already-prohibited machinegun conversion device?

Gun-rights groups say the answer is clearly no. Maryland now says Glock-style pistols can be treated differently from other semiautomatic handguns because of what they could become after an illegal modification.

That dispute is at the center of Bathras v. Moore, the federal Second Amendment challenge to Maryland Senate Bill 334.

Amended Complaint Adds Maryland Gun Owners and Dealer

AmmoLand covered the original lawsuit after the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition and Second Amendment Foundation sued Gov. Wes Moore and other Maryland officials on May 26—the same day Moore signed SB 334. That immediate filing leaves Maryland’s newly asserted laches defense, which requires unreasonable and prejudicial delay, with no apparent factual basis.

A June 25 amended complaint added Maryland residents David J. Bathras Sr. and Roslyn Mickens, along with Atlantic Guns in Rockville. The case is now captioned Bathras v. Moore.

Bathras owns a Glock and wants to purchase additional Glock-style pistols. He also wants to retain the ability to sell or transfer his current handgun through lawful channels. Mickens is a registered gun collector and licensed firearms instructor who also wants to acquire covered pistols.

Atlantic Guns has sold firearms in Maryland since 1950. The dealer says the law will force it to stop stocking and selling a substantial category of popular defensive handguns.

These plaintiffs are challenging a law that directly prevents them from buying, selling and transferring arms they otherwise may lawfully possess.

Maryland’s Ban Targets Factory-Built Semiautomatic Pistols

Beginning January 1, 2027, SB 334 prohibits ordinary Marylanders from manufacturing, selling, purchasing, receiving or transferring what the state calls a “machine gun convertible pistol.”

The definition targets semiautomatic pistols with a cruciform trigger bar that can supposedly be converted into a machinegun by replacing the slide’s backplate with a pistol converter. That language is expected to cover nearly every Glock, along with Glock-pattern pistols such as the Palmetto State Armory Dagger, Ruger RXM and many Shadow Systems handguns.

A first offense can bring up to three years in prison, a $5,000 fine or both.

A factory Glock is not a machinegun. It fires one round per function of the trigger. Making it fire automatically requires someone to install an illegal conversion device or otherwise unlawfully alter the firearm.

Federal law already treats the conversion device itself as a machinegun. Maryland also bans pistol converters as “rapid fire activators.” Neither prohibition is being challenged. The lawsuit is about whether Maryland can ban the unmodified handgun because someone could attach a separate piece of contraband to it. As the amended complaint states:

“That is a handgun ban. The fact that the ban targets only one category of popular handguns does not make it constitutional.”

Plaintiffs Say Heller Protects Glock-Style Pistols

The plaintiffs’ Second Amendment argument begins with District of Columbia v. Heller. The Supreme Court held that handguns are at the core of the right to armed self-defense and that commonly possessed firearms cannot be banned as “dangerous and unusual.”

Glock pistols are plainly common. The amended complaint cites sales rankings, ATF production figures, civilian market data and widespread law-enforcement use. It alleges that Glock manufactured more than half a million handguns for the American market in 2021 alone, before imported pistols are even counted.

The complaint also notes that Glock pistols are widely issued to police—including Baltimore officers. Maryland considers these handguns suitable for police defensive use while attempting to block ordinary citizens from buying the same basic firearms.

Under New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the plaintiffs argue, the analysis is straightforward. Glock and Glock-style pistols are bearable arms. Buying and acquiring them is necessary to exercise the right to keep and bear arms. Maryland must therefore prove that its ban is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.

The amended complaint says no such tradition exists.

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Maryland Says Glocks Are Different

Maryland’s July 13 answer disputes the plaintiffs’ central claim that Glock-style pistols are not meaningfully different from other semiautomatic handguns.

The state instead says certain Glocks are “semiautomatic firearms that are capable of being fully automatic weapons.”

That appears to be the foundation of Maryland’s Second Amendment defense: These pistols can be singled out because their design allegedly makes illegal conversion easier.

But the state’s wording blurs the difference between a lawful factory pistol and the machinegun created after someone installs an illegal conversion device. The converter is not part of the unmodified handgun. Glock does not manufacture the illegal switches, and neither do the manufacturers of Glock-pattern pistols.

The government cannot turn a legal handgun into a machinegun on paper by pointing to an illegal part that is not installed. By that logic, an AR-15 could be banned because illegal auto sears exist, or a shotgun could be prohibited because a criminal might cut down its barrel.

The constitutional analysis should concern the arm as lawfully manufactured and possessed—not a hypothetical contraband configuration.

Maryland Avoids the Common-Use Evidence

Maryland also refuses to concede that Glock pistols are among the most commonly owned handguns in America.

When responding to the complaint’s allegations about Glock’s market share, production numbers, sales rankings and law-enforcement use, the state repeatedly says it is “without knowledge or information.”

That is a remarkable position for a government defending a sweeping firearm ban. Maryland knew enough about Glock pistols to prohibit their future sale and transfer, but it now declines to acknowledge public evidence showing just how common they are.

Common use is central because Maryland cannot plausibly call a firearm “unusual” when millions are owned for lawful purposes. A handgun does not lose Second Amendment protection simply because anti-gun legislators give it a menacing new name.

The Supreme Court reinforced that point in Wolford v. Lopez. At the plain-text stage, the question is whether the regulated weapon is an “Arm.” Maryland cannot avoid that threshold by relabeling an ordinary semiautomatic pistol a “machine gun convertible pistol.”

Maryland Has Not Offered a Historical Tradition

Maryland’s answer says Bruen “speaks for itself,” but the filing identifies no Founding-era or Reconstruction-era tradition of banning ordinary handguns because criminals might illegally modify them.

The state may present a fuller historical argument in later briefs. An answer is not ordinarily where the government lays out its entire constitutional defense. Still, Maryland has now made clear where the parties disagree.

The plaintiffs say Glock-style pistols are common semiautomatic handguns protected by Heller and Bruen. Maryland says their potential for illegal conversion makes them different.

That leaves the court with a basic choice: Judge the handgun as it lawfully exists, or allow Maryland to ban it based on a crime somebody might commit with a separate illegal device.

The Second Amendment protects the actual firearm in the citizen’s holster—not the imaginary machinegun Maryland politicians have constructed around it.

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About Duncan Johnson:

Duncan Johnson is a lifelong firearms enthusiast and unwavering defender of the Second Amendment—where “shall not be infringed” means exactly what it says. A graduate of George Mason University, he enjoys competing in local USPSA and multi-gun competitions whenever he’s not covering the latest in gun rights and firearm policy. Duncan is a regular contributor to AmmoLand News and serves as part of the editorial team responsible for AmmoLand’s daily gun-rights reporting and industry coverage.

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Delaware Keeps Fighting to Ban Guns for Adults Under 21

In the federal challenge to HB 451, Delaware argues that binding Third Circuit precedent protecting young adults does not control restrictions on buying and possessing firearms. iStock-2217396059

Delaware is asking a federal judge to keep Birney v. Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, the federal challenge to the state’s under-21 gun ban, on hold.

In a July 13 filing, state officials opposed the Birney plaintiffs’ request to reopen proceedings over House Bill 451. That law was written to prohibit most adults ages 18 to 20 from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling firearms and ammunition, subject to limited exceptions.

The immediate question before U.S. District Judge Richard G. Andrews is procedural: Should the federal case remain frozen while Delaware continues defending HB 451 in state court?

Delaware says it should. The state also argues that Lara v. Commissioner Pennsylvania State Police, the Third Circuit’s major ruling recognizing the Second Amendment rights of adults under 21, does not control the Birney case.

Its reason is the heart of this latest filing. Lara involved public carry, Delaware says, while Birney challenges restrictions on purchasing and possessing firearms.

That is a hard argument to square with reality. A person cannot keep a firearm he is forbidden to possess, and he cannot bear one the government prevents him from acquiring in the first place.

Delaware Wants the Federal Case Kept on Ice

HB 451 was written to prohibit most adults under 21 from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling firearms and ammunition, subject to limited exceptions.

As AmmoLand previously reported, Delaware Superior Court Judge Reneta L. Green-Streett ruled in August 2025 that the age-based restrictions violate Article I, Section 20 of the Delaware Constitution. She granted summary judgment to Gavin Birney, the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association, and the Bridgeville Rifle and Pistol Club.

Delaware appealed that loss. The challengers cross-appealed, asking the Delaware Supreme Court to address the federal Second Amendment claim under the Supreme Court’s Bruen framework.

Meanwhile, the parallel federal case, Birney v. Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, has been stayed since 2023. On July 10, the federal plaintiffs asked Judge Andrews for a status conference and requested that the stay be lifted.

Delaware’s response was essentially: keep waiting.

The state wants the federal case held until the Delaware Supreme Court proceedings conclude. It has also requested that the state appeal be sent back for expert reports and an evidentiary hearing concerning Delaware’s concealed-deadly-weapon licensing system.

Delaware argues that adults ages 18 to 20 who obtain a concealed-carry license are exempt from HB 451’s criminal penalties. That exception may narrow the law’s reach, but it does not change the law’s starting point: an entire class of adult citizens is prohibited unless they qualify for a government-approved escape hatch.

An exception to a ban is not the same thing as a right.

Lara Is Binding, Even If Delaware Dislikes Its Reach

The Third Circuit’s published 2025 decision in Lara held that adults ages 18 to 20 are presumptively among “the people” protected by the Second Amendment.

The court also examined Founding-era militia laws requiring young men to acquire arms and report for service. That history showed that young adults were expected to be armed, not treated as a prohibited class until their 21st birthdays.

AmmoLand covered the Third Circuit victory and its subsequent refusal to rehear the case en banc.

On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court denied Pennsylvania’s petition, leaving the Third Circuit judgment intact. That denial did not turn Lara into a nationwide ruling. It did, however, leave Lara as a binding precedent inside the Third Circuit, which includes Delaware.

Lara did not directly decide on a purchase-and-possession ban. The state cannot ignore Lara’s holdings that 18-to-20-year-olds are protected adults and that Founding-era history does not support treating them as a disarmed class.

Delaware’s filing instead points to out-of-circuit decisions upholding other age restrictions, emphasizing that the Supreme Court recently declined to hear appeals from those cases.

A certiorari denial is not a Supreme Court endorsement. It decides only that the justices will not hear that particular appeal. Those out-of-circuit decisions remain persuasive authority in Delaware, while Lara remains binding authority.

You Cannot Keep What You Cannot Acquire

Second Amendment Foundation Director of Legal Research and Education Kostas Moros reacted to Delaware’s argument on X, calling the theory that acquiring firearms receives less protection “unserious.”

His point is straightforward. The Second Amendment does not merely prohibit the complete elimination of firearm ownership. It says the right shall not be infringed.

The Tenth Circuit made the same point in Ortega v. Grisham, a case involving New Mexico’s seven-day firearm waiting period:

“One cannot keep or bear arms if one cannot acquire them.”

The court in Ortega rejected the threshold claim that firearm acquisition somehow falls outside the Second Amendment simply because the word “purchase” does not appear in the text.

The right to acquire arms is necessarily connected to keeping and bearing them. Otherwise, a state could destroy the right while pretending it had never technically prohibited “keeping” or “bearing.”

This argument that acquiring firearms is somehow not a right or less protected because the Second Amendment only applies to the literal “keeping” or “bearing” of arms has always been unserious.

Perhaps if the Second Amendment said “the right to keep and bear arms shall not be… https://t.co/JPPyHzQXaD

— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) July 13, 2026

Delaware’s Filing Does Not Discuss Reese

Delaware cites decisions from other circuits that upheld age restrictions, but its July 13 filing does not discuss the Fifth Circuit’s ruling in Reese v. ATF.

That case is particularly relevant because it involved a federal prohibition on licensed dealers selling handguns to adults under 21. The Fifth Circuit held that the right to keep and bear arms “surely implies the right to purchase them” and found no adequate Founding-era tradition supporting the restriction.

Reese is not binding in Delaware, but neither are the pro-restriction decisions Delaware wants Judge Andrews to consider. It demonstrates that the appellate disagreement is hardly one-sided, and it addresses firearm acquisition far more directly than Lara does.

A Broader Ban Demands More History, Not Less

Delaware’s basic theory turns the breadth of HB 451 into a defense. The state says Lara involved carrying a firearm during an emergency, while HB 451 involves purchasing and possessing one. But HB 451’s broader reach should require a stronger historical justification, not weaker constitutional protection.

Under Bruen, Delaware bears the burden of identifying a historical tradition supporting its restriction. Expert reports can explain that history. They cannot manufacture a Founding-era tradition that did not exist.

Judge Andrews has not yet ruled on whether the federal case will remain stayed. The July 13 filing is Delaware’s request, not a court decision.

Still, the state’s strategy is plain. It wants the federal challenge delayed while asking courts to confine Lara to the narrowest possible box.

Adults do not fall out of “the people” when they step off the sidewalk and into a gun store. If Delaware wants to disarm them, it must justify that policy with Founding-era history, not modern preferences and not a stack of certiorari denials.

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About Duncan Johnson:

Duncan Johnson is a lifelong firearms enthusiast and unwavering defender of the Second Amendment—where “shall not be infringed” means exactly what it says. A graduate of George Mason University, he enjoys competing in local USPSA and multi-gun competitions whenever he’s not covering the latest in gun rights and firearm policy. Duncan is a regular contributor to AmmoLand News and serves as part of the editorial team responsible for AmmoLand’s daily gun-rights reporting and industry coverage.

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GOA Sues Pennsylvania After Veteran Denied Carry License Over 1994 Marijuana Conviction

GOA and GOF are challenging Pennsylvania’s lifetime denial of a carry license to Air Force veteran Craig Philips over a minor marijuana conviction from 1994. iStock-2196791813

In light of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Hemani, Gun Owners of America (GOA) has filed a lawsuit challenging a Pennsylvania law that permanently bars residents with a minor misdemeanor drug conviction from obtaining a license to carry a firearm.

The case centers on Pennsylvania resident and United States Air Force veteran Craig Phillips. In 1994, Phillips was arrested and convicted for possessing a small amount of marijuana. His offense occurred long before shifting public attitudes led many states to reduce or eliminate penalties for cannabis possession.

The lawsuit, Philips v. Bivens, attacks a Pennsylvania statute that permanently denies a License to Carry Firearms (LTCF) to anyone convicted of an offense under the state’s Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act—even when the offense was minor, nonviolent, and committed decades ago.

A 1994 Misdemeanor Became a Lifetime Carry Ban

Phillips has not used any drugs since that single incident more than three decades ago. Yet Pennsylvania’s outdated law has stripped him of his constitutionally protected right to bear arms ever since. Despite evolving public opinion and scientific understanding of cannabis, the Commonwealth has refused to modernize its statutes. Now, this law-abiding gun owner and longtime GOA member has teamed up with the organization to sue and restore his God-given Second Amendment rights.

In 2024, Philips applied for a Pennsylvania carry license in Butler County. His application was denied solely because of the 1994 marijuana conviction. That denial does more than prevent Philips from carrying concealed. Without an LTCF, Pennsylvania law substantially restricts his ability to carry a handgun in a vehicle, carry openly or concealed in Philadelphia, or remain armed on public property during a declared emergency.

In other words, Pennsylvania allows Philips to own a handgun but blocks him from practically bearing that handgun for self-defense throughout much of his daily life.

Hemani Puts Pennsylvania on the Defensive

The timing of the lawsuit is no coincidence. Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a unanimous 9-0 ruling in Hemani. That case addressed a federal law criminalizing firearm ownership by “unlawful users” of marijuana. Prior to the decision, it was a federal offense for individuals to possess guns while being classified as unlawful marijuana users, even if their use was infrequent or in the distant past.

The Supreme Court took up the case after the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the federal prohibition was inconsistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Applying the framework established in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Court struck down the restriction.

Under the Bruen test, courts must first examine whether the plain text of the Second Amendment covers the conduct at issue.

In Hemani, the plaintiff was indisputably a member of “the people”—the class protected by the Amendment—having reached the age of majority. The same holds true for Phillips. The conduct in Hemani involved keeping arms, while Phillips seeks to exercise the right to bear arms. Both are explicitly protected by the Second Amendment’s text.

The second step of the Bruen analysis shifts the burden to the government to demonstrate that the challenged law is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. This requires the state to identify relevant historical analogues, typically from the Founding era.

In Hemani, the government’s primary analogues were racist “Black Codes” enacted during the Reconstruction era to disarm newly freed Black citizens. The Supreme Court soundly rejected these as improper historical comparators. Instead, the justices noted that many of the Founding Fathers themselves consumed alcohol regularly, sometimes heavily, without forfeiting their right to keep and bear arms. The unanimous decision made clear that only those who are actively intoxicated can have their rights restricted on that basis. Passive or historical drug use does not justify a lifetime ban.

Pennsylvania Must Produce the History

This ruling creates a significant roadblock for Pennsylvania in defending its law. The Commonwealth will struggle to produce Founding-era analogues that support permanently disarming someone for a decades-old minor misdemeanor. Legal experts believe Phillips v. Bivens could become one of the first major cases to apply the Hemani standard to strike down a state-level restriction.

Beyond historical analogues, Pennsylvania faces another glaring inconsistency: the state already deems individuals like Phillips safe enough to own firearms, yet it prohibits them from carrying those same firearms for self-defense. This distinction lacks logical or constitutional support under the Bruen framework, which treats the right to keep and bear arms as a unified whole.

GOA’s involvement underscores the organization’s commitment to defending the rights of veterans and everyday Americans against government overreach. For Phillips, this lawsuit represents more than just legal advocacy—it is a fight to reclaim a fundamental liberty denied for over 30 years because of one youthful mistake.

The outcome of Phillips v. Bivens could have far-reaching implications. A victory would not only restore Phillips’ rights but also set a powerful precedent for challenging similar restrictions across the country. As post-Bruen and post-Hemani litigation continues to reshape the legal landscape, courts are increasingly forcing states to justify their gun control measures with history rather than modern policy preferences.

Gun rights advocates see this as a critical step toward ensuring that the Second Amendment’s protections are not eroded by outdated statutes or selective enforcement. For veterans like Craig Phillips, who served their country honorably, the right to self-defense should not end with a decades-old minor conviction.

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About John Crump

Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @right2bear, or at www.crumpy.com.

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Silence Is Defeat: Why Gun Owners Must Flood ATF Comment Dockets Now

Gun owners can use ATF public comment periods to build the legal record against bad regulations and support pro-Second Amendment rollbacks. IMG Jim Grant

We’ve all seen the headlines. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announce a new proposed rule change. Under hostile administrations, these rules threaten to turn millions of law-abiding citizens into felons overnight. Under pro-Second Amendment leadership, they are common-sense rollbacks of bureaucratic red tape designed to relieve heavily burdened Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) and gun owners.

Yet, a dangerous myth quietly circulates within the Second Amendment community: “The ATF is going to do whatever they want anyway, so why bother writing a comment?”

Let’s set the record straight right now. That defeatist attitude is exactly how we lose.

If we remain silent when a public comment window is open, we hand the anti-gun lobby an uncontested victory. Your voice is a critical weapon in this administrative dogfight, here is exactly how the system works, why it matters, and how we use it to win.

This Isn’t a Vote—It’s a Legal Paper Trail

When the ATF proposes a rule change, federal law requires them to open the docket to public scrutiny. Many gun owners mistake this for a popularity contest or a simple digital ballot box. It isn’t. The ATF doesn’t just tally up the “yes” and “no” votes to declare a winner.

Instead, the agency is strictly bound by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Under the APA, regulators are legally mandated to read, analyze, and address every single unique, substantive argument submitted.

This creates a high-stakes dynamic depending on which way a rule is cut:

• For Restrictive Rules: If anti-gun organizations flood the registry while we stay silent, the administrative record becomes completely one-sided. The ATF will use that uncontested noise as empirical justification to push through crushing restrictions.
• For Favorable (Deregulatory) Rules: If a pro-Second Amendment administration proposes rolling back red tape but gun owners don’t show up to support it, hostile groups will dominate the docket, forcing the agency to withdraw the proposal entirely due to “overwhelming public opposition.”

But when we flood the portal with high-quality, unique, and legally sound comments, we build a wall of resistance. If a hostile ATF tries to ram a bad rule through anyway while ignoring our valid, detailed objections, they hand us the ultimate weapon. Our comments become the exact, undeniable evidence pro-gun attorneys use in federal court to strike the rule down as “arbitrary and capricious.”

Proof from the Front Lines: How Comments Sink Rules

If you think public comments lack teeth, look no further than the massive victory that just occurred on July 6, 2026.

The ATF attempted a bureaucratic shortcut by pushing through a “direct final rule” regarding Licensee “eZ Check” Verification (Docket No. ATF-2026-0009). This fast-tracks process allows the agency to bypass standard administrative hurdles unless they receive adverse public comments.

1.The Fast-Track Attempt: June 2026.

The ATF issued a direct final rule to quietly alter the eZ Check system, assuming it would slide through without major friction.

2.The Opposition Flood: Open Window.

Gun control groups and hostile commenters flooded the federal register, lodging massive, coordinated opposition during the open window.

3.The Agency Capitulation: July 6, 2026.

The ATF officially broke. Recognizing the legal barrier created by the adverse comments, they published a formal notice withdrawing the rule entirely.

This proves the mechanics of the playbook work and right now, the stakes are higher than ever. Under Director Robert Cekada, the ATF has proposed nearly three dozen regulatory rollbacks, including crucial efforts to undo the highly restrictive “engaged in the business” and stabilizing brace rules.

Gun-control apparatuses like Everytown and Giffords are actively using this exact blueprint to bury these pro-gun rollbacks in hostile commentary. If we stay silent and let them dominate the dockets, they will kill these pro-gun rollbacks before they ever see the light of day.

How to Write a Comment That Cuts Through the Noise

Form letters and copy-pasted templates have their place for showing bulk numbers, but agency lawyers can easily bucket thousands of identical entries into a single generic response. To make your comment count double, you must make it unique.

• State Your Credibility: Start by explaining who you are. Are you a competitive shooter, a veteran, a hunter, an FFL holder, or a self-defense advocate?
• Focus on Real-World Impact: Explain exactly how the proposed rule impacts you practically or financially. Will it cost you compliance fees? Will it force you to destroy or register legally acquired property? Will it slow down your business operations? Lived experience is highly persuasive to a federal judge reviewing the record later.
• Point Out Flawed Logic: Did the agency use skewed data? Are they ignoring common sense or overstepping their statutory authority? Point it out clearly.
• Keep It Professional: Leave the insults and emotional rants at the door. Coarse language or vague threats allow agency lawyers to easily dismiss your input. Professional, firm, and fact-based comments cannot be ignored.

Recapturing the Founders’ Intent

The fight to protect the Second Amendment is no longer waged exclusively in the halls of Congress or the chambers of the Supreme Court. The modern battlefield is administrative, buried deep within the bureaucratic machinery of the Federal Register. Every single time an ATF comment window opens, gun-control groups mobilize their base to flood the portal. They want us quiet, compliant, and defeated. If we choose inaction, we choose defeat.

Our Founders never intended for unelected technocrats to hold veto power over a fundamental, God-given right. To dismantle this unconstitutional overreach and recapture the true intent of the Constitution, we cannot afford to cede a single inch of ground. We must engage in the trenches of the administrative process, leverage the law to our advantage, and play to win.

When the next ATF comment period opens, do not scroll past the alert. Go to Regulations.gov, type in the number of the docket, and take five minutes to write your comment. Those five minutes build the legal shield that protects our rights in court.

Gear up, get on the registry, and hold the line. Our liberties depend on it.

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About Sean Maloney

Sean Maloney is a criminal defense attorney, co-founder of Second Call Defense, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is a nationally recognized speaker on critical topics, including the Second Amendment, self-defense, the use of lethal force, and concealed carry. Sean has worked on numerous use-of-force and self-defense cases and has personally trained hundreds of civilians to respond safely and legally to life-threatening situations. He is a passionate advocate for restoring the cultural legitimacy of the Second Amendment and promoting personal responsibility in self-defense.

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Seventh Circuit Upholds Illinois AR-15 Ban Days After Supreme Court Takes Up Same Fight

The Seventh Circuit upheld Illinois’ AR-15 ban just days after the Supreme Court agreed to hear a major challenge to semiautomatic rifle bans. IMG Travis Pike

The Seventh Circuit just upheld Illinois’ ban on AR-15s and standard 30-round magazines, but the ruling may have a very short shelf life.

In Barnett v. Raoul, a divided panel reversed Judge Stephen McGlynn’s permanent injunction against Illinois’ so-called Protect Illinois Communities Act, allowing the state to keep enforcing its ban on America’s most popular rifle. The decision landed just days after the Supreme Court agreed to hear Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins, two cases that ask whether the Second Amendment protects common semiautomatic rifles like the AR-15.

In other words, the Seventh Circuit just doubled down on Bevis while SCOTUS is already preparing to review the same fight.

AmmoLand readers have been following this fight for years. Barnett was never just another Illinois gun-ban case. It has long been one of the cases that could force the Supreme Court to finally confront whether the Second Amendment protects modern semiautomatic rifles. Justice Clarence Thomas previously warned that if the Seventh Circuit ultimately allowed Illinois to ban “America’s most common civilian rifle,” the Supreme Court “can—and should—review that decision once the cases reach a final judgment.” AmmoLand covered that warning when the case moved toward trial as well as the oral arguments last September.

Well, here we are with a decision and it is a decidedly anti-gun decision from the Seventh Circuit.

Court Leans On Bevis And Rahimi

The majority opinion, written by Judge Amy St. Eve and joined by Judge Frank Easterbrook, leaned heavily on the Seventh Circuit’s earlier Bevis ruling. In Bevis, the court claimed AR-15s are close enough to M16s to fall outside full Second Amendment protection, even though AR-15s fire only one round per trigger pull and are owned by millions of law-abiding Americans for lawful purposes.

After a full trial record in Barnett, the district court found that ordinary citizens choose AR-15s, standard magazines, and related accessories for self-defense. The district court also found that AR-15s are materially different from military-issued M16 rifles because AR-15s are semiautomatic, while M16s are capable of automatic or burst fire.The Seventh Circuit was not interested.

Instead, the majority said Rahimi supported its prior approach because the Supreme Court rejected the idea that modern gun laws need exact historical twins. The court also pointed to what it described as a unanimous circuit consensus, noting that other federal appeals courts to reach similar AR-15 or magazine-ban questions have upheld them.

That sounds impressive until you look at the list. The First, Second, Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, and D.C. Circuits are not exactly known as Second Amendment strongholds.

Calling that a national constitutional consensus is like polling a gun-control conference and declaring the debate over. The more honest framing is that anti-gun circuits have built a wall around AR-15 bans, and now the Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether that wall stands or falls.

Viramontes Changes Everything

That is what makes the timing of Barnett so important. On June 30, 2026, just days before this Seventh Circuit ruling, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Viramontes v. Cook County and consolidated it with Grant v. Higgins. The Court allotted one hour of oral argument, and the question presented asks whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect semiautomatic rifles in common use for lawful purposes, including “the most popular rifle in the country, the AR-15.”

In other words, the Seventh Circuit is doubling down on Bevis while the Supreme Court is already preparing to take up the same core issue.

The majority also cited Wolford v. Lopez, but it did not seriously grapple with what Wolford demands. Wolford made clear that courts evaluating historical analogues must look at how many jurisdictions adopted them, whether they were well accepted, and whether they are similar in both “how” and “why.” That is a much tighter inquiry than grabbing old Bowie knife restrictions and stretching them into a permission slip for banning commonly owned semiautomatic rifles.

Brennan’s Dissent Gets It Right

Chief Judge Michael Brennan’s dissent cut straight through the noise.

“Illinois has banned the best-selling rifle in America and its standard magazine,” Brennan wrote. He warned that after “perhaps the most comprehensive trial record in any Second Amendment case to date,” the court simply repeated its Bevis error.

Brennan got it right. Heller protects arms commonly owned by law-abiding Americans for lawful purposes. The AR-15 clears that bar with room to spare. Courts do not get to relabel a commonly owned rifle as too dangerous simply because politicians and gun-control lawyers do not like it.

For Illinois gun owners, Barnett is a loss. But it may also be the Seventh Circuit’s final defense of Bevis before the Supreme Court finally answers the AR-15 question directly.

The Seventh Circuit has made its position clear. Now it is SCOTUS’ turn.

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About Duncan Johnson:

Duncan Johnson is a lifelong firearms enthusiast and unwavering defender of the Second Amendment—where “shall not be infringed” means exactly what it says. A graduate of George Mason University, he enjoys competing in local USPSA and multi-gun competitions whenever he’s not covering the latest in gun rights and firearm policy. Duncan is a regular contributor to AmmoLand News and serves as part of the editorial team responsible for AmmoLand’s daily gun-rights reporting and industry coverage.

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