Digest: Judge Dismisses Machine Gun Case on 2A Grounds...

US v Morgan

A 2A case out of Kansas drew some attention yesterday after a judge dismissed gun charges for possession of a machine gun on Second Amendment grounds.

Summary of US v Morgan

Case Overview:

• Court: United States District Court for the District of Kansas
• Case Name: United States of America v. Tamori Morgan
• Case Number: 23-10047-JWB
• Date of Order: August 21, 2024
• Judge: John W. Broomes

Legal Issue:

Defendant's Motion: Tamori Morgan, the defendant, filed a motion to dismiss charges based on Second Amendment grounds. Morgan was charged with possessing a machine gun, which is illegal under 18 U.S.C. § 922(o).

Court's Findings:

1. Applicability of the Second Amendment:
   • The court found that the Second Amendment does apply to the weapons involved in this case (a machine gun and a conversion device known as a "Glock switch") because they are "bearable arms."
   • The court rejected the government’s argument that the Second Amendment only applies to weapons commonly used by law-abiding citizens at the time of the amendment’s enactment.
2. Historical Analysis Requirement:
   • Under the framework established in the Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen, the government has the burden of proving that the regulation in question is consistent with the historical tradition of firearm regulation in the United States.
   • The court found that the government failed to identify a sufficient historical analogue for the prohibition of machine guns under 18 U.S.C. § 922(o).
   • The historical examples provided by the government, such as English common law prohibiting carrying dangerous weapons, were found to be dissimilar to the mere possession of machine guns.
3. Decision:
   • The court granted the motion to dismiss the charges on Second Amendment grounds, concluding that the government did not meet its burden under the Bruen framework.
   • A separate motion to dismiss based on Commerce Clause grounds was denied as moot since the Second Amendment issue was dispositive.

Conclusion:

The court dismissed the charges against Tamori Morgan for possessing a machine gun on the grounds that the government failed to show that such a prohibition is consistent with the nation’s history of firearms regulation, as required by the Second Amendment analysis under Bruen.

Implications:

This ruling doesn't change anything in the immediate term. Further, the judge signaled that an appeal or a separate, similar case could go differently if the government attempted to present a historical analog to justify the regulation of machine guns (which they basically didn't even try to do in this case).

The facts of the case are also a bit iffy since the court document cites an Anderson 300 Blackout "machinegun" and a "Glock switch" – I'm not exactly sure how those two would work together. It reads to me (a non-lawyer) like the government simply assumed this case would be open-and-shut and failed to put any real effort into its prosecution; the judge, in light of the Bruen decision, rebuked them over it.

It's likely to be appealed (and reversed on appeal), so don't start posting your switches on Instagram just yet. But don't be blackpilled—even if this doesn't turn into the case to end the current regs on machine guns, it's certainly another signal that in a post-Bruen world, the NFA is on shaky ground and that it might be up for the taking...

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