Trump blocks DOJ appeal of gun ruling

President Trump ordered the Justice Department not to appeal a court ruling that loosened restrictions on short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and silencers, allowing some Americans to possess them with less government oversight.

Decades of strict regulation

For more than ninety years, short-barreled rifles, shotguns and silencers have been among the most heavily regulated firearms because they are generally considered particularly dangerous and easily concealable.

How the National Firearms Act worked

Under the National Firearms Act, first enacted in nineteen thirty-four, anyone wishing to sell, possess or make a firearm covered by the law had to submit a detailed written application to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, be fingerprinted and register the weapons.

Texas judge strikes down restrictions

In August, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, a Trump appointee in the Northern District of Texas, ruled that most restrictions on firearms regulated under the National Firearms Act are unconstitutional.

Trump personally decided against appeal

The president himself decided against appealing the ruling. Trump also told Republican members of Congress in recent weeks that he would ensure the Justice Department did not contest the decision.

DOJ lawyers disagree with the move

Career and politically appointed lawyers at the Justice Department across multiple offices disagree with the court's opinion and have warned it is already adversely impacting federal firearms prosecutions across the country.

Breaks with legal tradition

Not appealing runs counter to the Justice Department's duty to defend, a longstanding legal principle that says the department has a constitutional duty to defend laws enacted by Congress as long as reasonable arguments can be made.

Who brought the lawsuit

The judge's decision came in two consolidated cases brought against the government by fifteen red states and a number of Second Amendment gun rights groups and individuals, including the Gun Owners of America and the Gun Owners Foundation.

Judge's reasoning on the tax

Hendrix based his opinion on Congress's decision to eliminate a two hundred dollar tax on firearms regulated under the National Firearms Act. He wrote that without the tax, the regulatory provisions cannot be upheld under the taxing power.

“Because today's NFA does not generate any revenue from untaxed firearms, its regulatory provisions cannot be upheld under the taxing power.”

Prosecutions already affected

The injunction's coverage of future members of gun rights groups has already caused problems for federal prosecutors. In one case in Alabama, the Justice Department dismissed an indictment against Cameron Silmon on a silencer charge after he claimed he joined a gun rights group after the ruling.

Gun control groups warn of danger

Emma Brown, executive director of GIFFORDS, argued that deciding not to appeal would constitute a failure to defend public safety. She said the Trump administration could bring back the days of Al Capone.

“The Trump Administration could bring us back to the days of Al Capone, where silencers and short-barreled shotguns were used to recklessly kill people.”

Congress could still act

If the Justice Department does not appeal, other interested parties like states or counties could try to ask the court for permission to intervene and appeal. Congress could also reinstate the tax or pass a different law to regulate the weapons.