A federal court in Mississippi has ruled that the federal ban on machine guns lacks historical precedent and is therefore unconstitutional. The decision in United States v. Brown marks the second time a court has struck down such a ban, raising questions about the future of automatic firearm regulations in the U.S.
Washington Gun Law President William Kirk described the ruling as a significant step in re-evaluating gun control laws under the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision.
“We are beginning to see different results when we apply the correct constitutional analysis,” Kirk said, emphasizing that many longstanding gun restrictions are being reconsidered through a historical lens.
The case centered around Justin Brown, who faced charges for unlawful possession of a machine gun under 18 U.S.C. § 922(o). Brown challenged the indictment, arguing that the Second Amendment protects his right to own the firearm. The court agreed, ruling that the government failed to demonstrate a historical tradition of banning machine guns.
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A federal judge in Mississippi has begrudgingly ordered that the federal ban on machine gun possession is unconstitutional (AS APPLIED TO ONLY THE DEFENDANT IN THIS CASE) pic.twitter.com/2iSi7Dv6Fk
— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) February 4, 2025
The judge pointed out that prior legal precedent upholding such bans was based on outdated legal tests. “Every appellate prior precedent was rendered obsolete,” the court stated, reinforcing that the Bruen decision set a new constitutional standard requiring gun laws to be consistent with historical traditions.
Kirk criticized the government’s reliance on older rulings.
“It is ridiculous how frequently the United States government and states will argue that old gun control precedent is still good precedent despite the fact that it was clearly established under an entirely separate and now rejected test,” he said.
One of the key issues in the case was whether machine guns are both “dangerous and unusual,” a standard for restricting firearms. The government argued that machine guns are particularly dangerous, but the court noted that they failed to prove they are unusual.
The ruling referenced another recent case, United States v. Morgan, which found that over 740,000 machine guns were lawfully possessed in the U.S. as of 2021.
“The government must prove that its desired firearm restriction is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulations,” the court wrote, referencing the Bruen decision. However, the court criticized the government’s approach, noting that many of its cited cases relied on outdated legal tests that Bruen had rendered obsolete.
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Kirk highlighted the significance of the ruling. “This is a huge win and now a second ruling eroding a federal gun ban that really just came into existence in 1986. There really is no historical analog to justify this,” he said.
The decision applies specifically to Brown’s case and does not immediately overturn federal machine gun laws nationwide. However, the ruling could set the stage for broader challenges. Kirk noted that it remains unclear whether the Department of Justice will appeal under the newly appointed attorney general.
For now, gun rights advocates view the ruling as a major step forward in challenging restrictive firearm laws.
The court made its stance clear: “At their core, the Supreme Court’s recent Second Amendment cases are predicated upon a lack of trust.”
Lawmakers and courts, it implied, have failed to protect gun rights. Instead of deferring to policy arguments, the ruling reinforced that history—not government opinion—determines constitutionality.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
I don’t see this as getting rid of the NFA registry but I could see it getting rid of the 1986 ban on newly manufactured full auto’s being added to the registry. That would be a nice out come and appropriate. A ban is unconstitutional. Open up the registry to newly manufactured full auto’s which would reduce the prices considerably.
great idea, gun owners should be allowed some full auto shooting time for the unexpected situations.
MG’s were in common use prior to the ban, and could be purchased through the mail order system in earlier times. The ban, ridiculous as it was, and all other bans are, were supposed to stop criminals from having MG’s during the gangster era. History repeating itself, we ban the 2A to prevent criminals from having these arms etc. and the only individuals it affects are the law abiding! Criminals are criminals by definition, they do criminal shit are the laws don’t apply to them!!!
So remove the unconditional ban on all 2A arms at once!
As others have opined, I hope this drives down the ridiculously high prices on full-auto’s. A class 7 dealer friend of mine tells me the cost of most parts to convert to full auto are cheap, like Glock switches, but can’t legally be sold. Hopefully this will open the door. I would love to have a ‘toy’ based on the .22LR that would be inexpensive to shoot! Any center-fire auto gets expensive quick!
The National Firearms Act, is an unconstitutional complete and utter malicious attempt to regulate the citizens ability to defend themselves by any means necessary be it with whatever weapon one chooses, or needs, as the Second Amendment makes no distinction, even if that means the militia part of the Second Amendment (armed with fully automatic weapons, tanks, field artillery, whatever), which is intended to be used against obstinate and intractable government tyranny, by the many, or the few!
WHAT SAY YOU?
Just wondering if allowing us to own machine guns with out restrictions will possibly drive down price’s on these guns?? I know I for one would purchase more weapons if price’s were reasonable!! Thanks RPS
Hmmm. One day and counting. Near total silence on this in the anti-free media. A careful search on google yielded only MSN reporting it.
You sound surprised
Some. Mostly disappointed.
I always wanted a 1928 TSMG….
I did too until I got one. A wonderful piece of history and beautiful mechanical device but a massively unergonomic way to turn money into noise.
Love it nevertheless, as long as I don’t need to shoot it too often.
Yeah, I have watched fired Tommy in the past, and recently YT on shooting the TSMG. Amazing how fast $450 worth of ammo or hours spent at the reloading bench turns into hot brass.
Still want one though.
Everybody wants to be your friend when you roll up to the shooting range with a Thompson, even just a semi-auto.
I actually got to shoot one was very amazed at the accuracy and the range in semi automatic while full auto takes a little getting used to because it fires from a locked back bolt!
But once it gets ripping on full-auto, you understand really quick why it was nicknamed the “Chicago Sewing Machine” 👏🏽 👍🏼☺️
Everyone reading this might get all excited about full auto weapons, but who can honestly afford one or the ammunition they spit out. I had a bump stock and used it twice. It was fun, but all I saw was money hitting the ground when the brass bounced around.
They’re rich peoples toys to show off to their friends.
Some people prioritize full auto.
Some people are hobbyists and casual shooters.
I’m not particularly rich and enjoy full auto. Bottom line: Restrictive nonsensical laws concerning our God given rights need to go away. Whether you’re a “rich people” or a poor.
The reason they are so expensive in the US is because they are currently illegal, in the rest of the world they are priced similarly as semi automatic weapons depending on availability. I’d like to own one but it would have to have a semi auto function as well. As for ammunition, you’re right, it’s the limiting factor for most people, I couldn’t afford to flip the giggle switch very often even being a reloader.
The jury is still out on AG Bondi. She was instrumental on the passage of the Red Flag law in Florida of which the illustrious Governor Scott signed. The Florida Republican led Legislature is not keen on the Open Carry idea either.
You are right. Time will tell if she has become more friendly to the 2nd Amendment. She wasn’t very nice to it when she was for the red flag laws.
If Bondi hasn’t fired one herself, it’s likely she’ll just fear it. Ronald Reagan was shot with a six-shooter and it scared him enough into signing the ’86 ban. Which was obviously Unconstitional. I am curios why the Mandalay Bay records were never released by Trump or Biden. This type of government obscurity is way way past getting old. Just like the CIA flying drugs into the country during the eighties just to see where the would go. Gary Webb, Ruby Ridge, Waco, (which created the Oklahoma City Bombing) and Fast and Furious (with Obama & Holder) Clintons practically allowed 9/11 to happen because they were balless wonders! After Black Hawk Down In Mogadishu. Look After 9/11 no restrictions on Our God given, Constitutional Rights shall be respected, get it? Or get out of our Government and country. Middle finger! And trigger one too! Serious Business.