CINCINNATI — Although there is virtually no history or tradition of regulating the length of barrels on firearms, here we are in 2026 where a firearm with a short barrel is highly regulated, functionally registered, and considered particularly dangerous, a position the Department of Justice has so far vigorously defended.
In that context, on July 13, a coalition of gun rights groups submitted a brief to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the case of United States v. Machamer arguing that these prohibitions are unconstitutional, and calling for the court to immediately reverse the district court finding that short-barreled rifles are not “Arms” under the Second Amendment’s plain text because they “constitute ‘unusual or dangerous’ firearms.”
“Short-barreled rifles are bearable arms protected by the Constitution, period. We filed this brief to remind the court that fundamental rights are not privileges to be sold back to Americans through special taxes and bureaucratic permission slips,” said FPC President Brandon Combs in an email statement.
The case pits gun owners against the Department of Justice, which has historically strongly defended the National Firearms Act. With the exception of the Civil Rights Division and its Second Amendment Section, the DOJ has mostly defended federal level gun control initiatives, as we’ve tracked extensively.
The case is backed by the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, and the American Suppressor Association.
