United States v. Henry

688 F.3d 637 (2012)

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United States v. Henry

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
688 F.3d 637 (2012)

Facts

A federal law made it illegal to own either a machine gun or an auto sear, i.e., a part that could be used to convert a rifle into a machine gun, if the gun or part was acquired after 1986. Under this law, a machine gun was defined as any weapon that automatically fired more than one shot with a single trigger pull and no manual reloading. By 2012, very few machine guns were legally possessed by individuals in the United States. Matthew Henry (defendant) was arrested and charged with possessing an auto sear and a rifle that he had converted into a homemade machine gun. Henry moved to dismiss the charges, arguing, in part, that the federal law violated the Second Amendment. The district court ruled that the Second Amendment did not guarantee an individual right to own a machine gun and denied the motion. Henry was convicted of violating the federal law and appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Smith, J.)

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