Jeremy Kettler v. United States
SecondAmendment Takings
Whether the National Firearms Act of 1934 continues to be a constitutional exercise of Congress's taxing power
QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW Petitioner was convicted of possessing an unregistered firearm sound suppressor in violation of the National Firearms Act of 1934, 26 U.S.C § 5861(d). He challenged whether the NFA continues to be a proper exercise of Congress’s taxing power due to changed circumstances, and if so, whether it imposes an impermissible tax on the exercise of a constitutional right. The Tenth Circuit concluded that it was bound by this Court’s decision in United States v. Sonzinsky, 300 U.S. 506 (1937), upholding the NFA, and that only this Court could overturn its own decisions. The Tenth Circuit also concluded that the Second Amendment protects only “bearable arms,” not including firearm accessories such as sound suppressors. The questions presented are: 1. Whether the National Firearms Act of 1934, upheld in Sonzinsky, continues to be a constitutional exercise of Congress’s taxing power when the justifications for that decision have significantly eroded over the last 82 years. 2. Whether the Second Amendment protects firearm accessories such as sound suppressors. 3. Whether the tax imposed by the National Firearms Act, targeting the exercise of a Second Amendment right, violates the rule of Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105 (1943) and Cox v. New Hampshire, 312 U.S. 669 (1941).