Texas Public Policy Foundation Machine Gun Possession Challenge Filed

The Texas Public Policy Foundation, a non-profit, free market research institute filed a lawsuit challenging the federal machine gun ban.

Their complaint argues that Congress exceeded its limited, enumerated powers when it enacted § 922(o),  criminalizing mere possession of machine guns.

The lawsuit also asks the court to reconsider the Fifth Circuit’s 1997 decision in United States v. Knutson, which upheld § 922(o) under the Commerce Clause. The Commerce Clause does not give Congress unlimited power to regulate simple possession of anything.

The case is a first step toward reclaiming rights that Congress never had the power to take away.