Machine guns are dangerous and unusual firearms, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Basing their decision largely on the Supreme Court’s Heller ruling, the bench determined that the ban on their possession is constitutional. The case before the court, United States v. Maxon Alsenat, concerned the sale of three Glock switches.
Defendant was convicted of selling 3 Glock switches
Alsenat was indicted for knowingly possessing a machine gun conversion device, an illegal device that criminals use to convert the functionality of some handguns to automatic. He sold them in 2023 to an undercover agent for $1,500.
His attorney attempted to get the charge dismissed, but the court declared the switches are not in “common use” and are “dangerous and unusual” as established in Heller.
The defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison. Alsenat then appealed to the Eleventh Circuit, arguing that his conviction was unlawful under the Bruen standard.
Appeals Court categorized machine guns as “dangerous and unusual”
The court, led by Chief Judge William Pryor, recognized that the Second Amendment protects weapons in common use by law-abiding citizens. However, he and two Circuit judges agreed that “dangerous and unusual weapons” are subject to federal prohibition.
The judges added, “Because machine guns are not protected by the Second Amendment as weapons in common use for lawful purposes, we affirm.”
The appeals court unanimously rejected arguments from Alsenat’s public defender, who told the judges that machine gun conversion devices “make small arms more useful for elderly householders and others who are too frightened to draw a careful bead on an intruder.”
The Eleventh Circuit panel also upheld the lower court’s determination that Glock switches are “accessories” and not “arms.”
As such, they are not protected by the Second Amendment.
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