CCRKBA AMICUS BRIEF SUPPORTS CHALLENGE OF NFA SUPPRESSOR TAX, REGISTRATION

BELLEVUE, WA — The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a case challenging the National Firearms Act’s (NFA) tax and registration requirements for firearm suppressors.

The case is known as George Peterson v. United States. CCRKBA’s amicus brief urges the high court to grant certiorari in the case, which would confirm that suppressors, often incorrectly referred to as “silencers,” are protected by the Second Amendment, and therefore are not subject to unconstitutional taxation and registration mandates. Suppressors have been federally regulated and taxed improperly for generations.

CCRKBA is joined by the Second Amendment Foundation, National Rifle Association, American Suppressor Association, Second Amendment Law Center, plus the California Rifle & Pistol Association and Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, which are both CCRKBA state affiliate organizations. 

“The time has come for the Supreme Court to put an end to schemes which have treated the Second Amendment as a second-class right,” said CCRKBA Executive Director Andrew Gottlieb. “While the Court has been gradually restoring the Second Amendment to its rightful place as a cornerstone of the Bill of Rights, an affirmative ruling in this case would give it some teeth. 

“For too long,” he continued, “the government has been placing financial burdens on American gun owners in its effort to marginalize the Second Amendment. This must not be allowed to continue, and Mr. Peterson’s case provides the Supreme Court with the mechanism to bring this practice to a halt.

“Rights are special,” Gottlieb observed. “They may not be taxed, nor should anyone be required to seek government approval, in the form of registration, before exercising any rights enumerated in the Constitution.”