The US Court of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit blocked an appeal last Friday from Texas gun owners and state Attorney General Ken Paxton seeking judicial approval of a Texas gun law that would exempt the state from federal firearm silencer regulations.
In a concise 14-page decision, the court upheld a lower court’s dismissal of the case for lack of standing. Standing, a legal doctrine, requires plaintiffs to demonstrate an injury in fact that is directly linked to the defendant’s actions and that the court can potentially remedy. The court found that the plaintiffs failed to establish either an actual injury or imminent harm.
Under federal law, individuals wishing to make a firearm silencer must pay a $200 excise tax, apply for a permit, and, once granted, register the device with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Additionally, the silencer must be marked with a serial number. Unauthorized manufacture of the device can result in a fine up to $10,000, up to 10 years in jail, or both.
The Fifth Circuit’s opinion noted that “In 2021, Texas enacted a law providing that ‘a firearm suppressor that is manufactured in [Texas] and remains in [Texas] is not subject to federal law or regulation.'” This law required individuals who wanted to make a suppressor to notify the state attorney general, who would then seek a declaratory judgment that federal law does not preempt the state exemption.
The plaintiffs also sought injunctive relief against the federal regulation. The state argued that standing existed based on several grounds, including its right to “vindicate its ‘quasi-sovereign interest in its citizens’ health and well-being” and “its sovereign interest in the power to create and enforce a legal code.” The court rejected both arguments, stating that “Texas’s asserted quasi-sovereign interest is wholly derivative of the personal Second Amendment interests of its citizens and therefore not a valid quasi-sovereign interest at all.” Furthermore, the court noted that laws aiming to immunize state citizens from federal law are void under established legal principles.
This decision comes in the wake of a US Supreme Court ruling that struck down the federal ban on bump stocks and an announcement from the Department of Justice to expand background check requirements for gun dealers.
For further details, you can access the full article published on JURIST here.