The Supreme Court on Monday rebuffed a challenge to a federal law that requires the regulation of gun silencers.
The case involves two men, Jeremy Kettler and Shane Cox, who were convicted of possessing unregistered firearm suppressors in violation of the National Firearms Act. The federal law, enacted in 1934, requires certain firearms — including silencers, grenades, and machine guns — to be registered with the federal government. It also requires a person purchasing a suppressor to pay a fee, undergo a background check, and submit fingerprints and photos.
Cox owns a military surplus store in Chanute, Kan., where he made and sold suppressors. Kettler bought a silencer in 2014 at Cox’s store.
Kettler’s attorneys argued he believed the “purchase, possession, and use of such a suppressor was entirely lawful.” Lawyers for Cox told the Supreme Court in filings he never would have made or sold the suppressors had he not thought it was legal to do so under a Kansas gun law passed in 2013.
After purchasing the silencer from Cox, Kettler posted a video to Facebook of the device, which led agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to interview him about his suppressors and posts on social media.
Kettler informed the ATF agents he was in possession of the silencers and told them he had “done nothing wrong,” his lawyers said.
He was subsequently charged with three federal felonies, including possession of an unregistered firearm,and convicted of one charge: possession of an unregistered firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act.
Cox, meanwhile, was convicted of eight crimes, including one count of possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, five counts of transferring an unregistered silencer, and one count of making an unregistered silencer.
The men challenged the charges and argued the National Firearms Act was an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’ taxing power because of changed circumstances. They also claimed the National Firearms Act violated their Second Amendment rights.
But the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Second Amendment does not protect silencers, as they are not “bearable arms.” A gun suppressor, the Denver-based appeals court said, is a “firearm accessory; it’s not a weapon in itself.”
The Supreme Court’s decision to turn away the case comes after a gunman opened fire in a municipal building in Virginia Beach, Va., on May 31, killing 12. Police said at least one of the firearms used had a silencer on it.
In the wake of the shooting, President Trump suggested he would “seriously look at” a ban on the accessories. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, also said he would call a special session of the state legislature, set to begin July 9, to consider gun control legislation. Included in the package would be a ban on silencers.
