The Supreme Court
has declined to hear this case, and GOA is making noise about it.
In the 2010s, several states passed
"firearms freedom laws," seeking to exempt their citizens from federal regulations if firearms were entirely manufactured within the borders of that state. The idea was that they wouldn't be subject to the Commerce Clause if they hadn't been involved in
interstate commerce.
<cue skeptical growl>
Kansas passed their version in 2013. At some point, Shane Cox, owner of an Army surplus store, started making his own silencers, which were not registered under the NFA. He transferred one to Jeremy Kettler. Kettler was busted for possession of an unregistered silencer, and Cox was charged with unlawful manufacture in another case.
The way I see it, there are three facets to this.
- play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Is there anyone who doesn't know silencers are heavily regulated? Doubtful.
- there are underlying 10th Amendment issues, which these laws sought to highlight in theory
- in practice, these laws potentially mislead their citizens by letting them think they're immune from potential federal prosecution. This is very similar to the situation in states that have "legalized" marijuana in violation of federal law
In any case, GOA brought the case, lost, appealed to the 10th Circuit, lost, and requested cert from SCOTUS, which was denied. Kettler's sentence was a year of probation.