The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Friday blocked an appeal from Texas gun owners and state Attorney General Ken Paxton, seeking judicial approval of a Texas law that exempts 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 is a legal requirement for a grievance to be heard in court, necessitating an injury in fact that is traceable to the defendant’s conduct and the potential for redress from the court. The court determined that the plaintiffs did not establish an actual injury or demonstrate that harm was imminent.
Federal law mandates that individuals wishing to make a firearm silencer must pay a $200 excise tax, apply for a permit, and, upon approval, register the device with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. The silencer must then be marked with a serial number. Manufacturing a silencer without permit approval is illegal and carries penalties of up to $10,000 in fines or 10 years in prison, or both.
Silencers, also known as suppressors, are auxiliary firearm devices that reduce the noise generated when a weapon is fired.
The Fifth Circuit’s judgment highlighted 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.’” The law outlined a procedure for individuals wishing to make a suppressor, requiring them to notify the state attorney general in writing. The attorney general would then seek a declaratory judgment that federal law did not conflict with the state law exempting suppressors from federal regulations.
The plaintiffs also sought injunctive relief against the federal regulation. The state argued that standing existed 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, “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.” Additionally, the court noted that the argument regarding the state’s sovereign interest was not applicable in this case, and that state laws attempting to nullify federal regulations are void as a matter of “black letter law.”
This decision follows a recent US Supreme Court ruling that struck down the federal ban on bump stocks, as well as an announcement from the Department of Justice about expanding background check requirements for gun dealers.
