Lawyer sues Eric Holder and ATF over his own homemade machine gun, says feds banned it unlawfully
An associate at a Pennsylvania law firm is suing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, contending that a machine gun he made for himself, through a trust, has unconstitutionally and unlawfully been confiscated.
Ryan Watson says in the complaint, which was filed Friday in federal court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, that he obtained permission from ATF to make the gun, and paid the $200 tax imposed. However, federal permission to make the gun was subsequently revoked, and he turned over the weapon as requested to the ATF’s Philadelphia field office.
His suit seeks declarative and injunctive relief, as well as attorney fees, arguing, among other contentions, that a federal ban on machine guns violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and exceeds the authority of Congress.
The Law Office of J. Scott Watson, for which Ryan Watson works as an associate, is bringing the litigation.
Courthouse News and the Examiner have stories.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Got valuable firearms? A gun trust can be a helpful estate-planning tool”
