Kansas Judge Dismisses Machine Gun Charges

A federal judge in Kansas, John Broomes, has dismissed charges against Tamori Morgan for possessing a machine gun, asserting that prosecutors failed to prove the constitutionality of the federal ban under the Second Amendment. This ruling marks a first in which a court has deemed a machine gun ban unconstitutional, following the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which demands historical analogs for firearm regulations. Broomes noted that the government did not meet its burden to demonstrate that such restrictions are consistent with the nation's historical firearms regulation. The dismissal has raised concerns among gun safety advocates, who call the decision 'extreme and reckless.' The U.S. Department of Justice is considering an appeal, which could significantly impact future gun regulation cases. Historically, machine guns have been prohibited since the National Firearms Act of 1934 and further restricted in 1986.