A Wisconsin-based firearms dealer and YouTuber charged with selling illegal equipment for converting machine guns has cited the Supreme Court's recent decision on concealed carry rights in an attempt to dismiss the indictment.
Attorneys representing Matthew Hoover are asking U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard to dismiss the indictment. Hoover is accused of violating the 1934 National Firearms Act, which regulates the ownership of machine guns, by advertising metal pieces that could be used to modify a semi-automatic rifle into a machine gun, according to the Washington Examiner.
The indictment also includes Florida resident Kristopher Ervin, who makes the metal pieces and sells them under the name "Auto Key Card."
Hoover's lawyers claim that the Supreme Court's recent ruling that struck down New York state's concealed carry law "gives this Court the tools it needs" to overturn the 1934 law.
"Finally, though, we have a standard which clearly articulates the burdens in a case involving restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms," the attorneys wrote in a motion filed earlier this month, according to the Examiner.
They also claimed that the ruling illustrates that firearm legislation "can only be constitutional if the government demonstrates analogous restrictions deeply rooted in American history."
According to the Examiner, neither the prosecution nor the judge in the case has responded to the motion.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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