Texas suppressor makers challenge ATF licensing rule in federal court

Two Texas suppressor makers have taken their fight against federal firearm regulation straight to a Texas courtroom, arguing that Washington has no constitutional business licensing a business that never ships products across state lines.

Snapshot

Jared Gee and David Abt, owners of Texas-based suppressor manufacturer 1836 LLC, filed suit against the ATF on October 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The case, assigned to Judge Brantley Starr, challenges the Gun Control Act of 1968's manufacturer licensing requirement as applied to suppressors made and sold entirely within Texas.

Key points

• Who's suing: Jared Gee and David Abt, both members of Texas Gun Rights, own 1836 LLC, the Texas suppressor manufacturer at the center of the case.
• Backstory: The lawsuit follows nearly two years of federal investigations and property seizures targeting the company, according to Bearing Arms.
• The legal question: The case asks whether Congress has constitutional authority to require federal manufacturer licensing when a suppressor is made in Texas, sold to a Texan, and never crosses state lines.
• Different target: Unlike other suppressor litigation aimed at the National Firearms Act's tax and registration rules, this suit goes after the Gun Control Act of 1968's licensing requirement itself.

Quick take

Tom Knighton of Bearing Arms argues the government's commerce-clause justification is shaky since there's no practical way to guarantee an in-state suppressor never crosses a border. He also contends the licensing requirement doesn't hold up under the Bruen standard, since he says no historical analog exists for requiring a license to manufacture or sell firearms, a right he views as inherent in the Second Amendment. Knighton says he thinks the plaintiffs have a solid chance of winning. The case is one more front in the broader legal push challenging decades-old federal gun statutes, and its outcome could matter well beyond suppressors if a court agrees that manufacturer licensing itself is constitutionally shaky ground.

Read the full story: bearingarms.com