Texas-based firearm accessory manufacturer Slide Fire is suing the U.S. government. The bump stock lawsuit was announced by Slide Fire (the manufacturer) recently on social media. They also published a release explaining the pending litigation, seeking redress for the beating their company took but also advocating for the basic rights of any responsible gun-owning citizen.
The lawsuit will be filed under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment: American Liberty News readers might be more familiar with its other moniker, the Just Compensation Clause.
As ALN readers might recall, the 2018 bump stock ban was enacted by a distortion and reinterpretation of existing federal regulations; this misinterpretation classified bump stocks as machine guns, effectively criminalizing them—not just the purchase of one upon the enactment of the legislation, but the owning of one in general by anyone regardless of legal pre-ban purchase.
On December 18, 2018, Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker announced that the Department of Justice has amended the regulations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), clarifying that bump stocks fall within the definition of “machinegun” under federal law, as such devices allow a shooter of a semiautomatic firearm to initiate a continuous firing cycle with a single pull of the trigger.
While that ban was later repealed by SCOTUS, the accessory remains banned in an unfortunate number of states and the District of Columbia.
A representative of Slide Fire Solutions explained,
“The government cannot simply bypass the Constitution and impose its will. This case is not just about bump stocks, it’s about standing up for the rights of millions of Americans whose property can be taken without cause or compensation.”
The release goes on to say that, if successful, the lawsuit could have significant implications, to wit:
1. Strengthening Property Rights: A favorable ruling would reinforce protections for private property under the Takings Clause, ensuring fair treatment in future regulatory actions.
2. Restoring Public Trust: Citizens would gain assurance that the government cannot arbitrarily redefine laws without accountability.
3. Setting Legal Precedent: The case could establish a framework for addressing similar overreaches in other industries, fostering fairness and transparency in regulatory practices.
You can learn more on their Instagram account.
Gun Owners of America quickly followed the announcement of the suit with a statement by Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President for Gun Owners:
“We fully support this case brought forth by Slide Fire Solutions, given the major implications it has on the Second Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights of all Americans. No American should have their property confiscated at the hands of the federal government in clear violation of the sacred principles of the United States Constitution.”
Fifth Amendment Takings Law
Among its varied responsibilities, the Natural Resources Section defends all real property claims brought in the United States Court of Federal Claims arising under the Just Compensation Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Also known as the “Takings Clause,” it states: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” This provision does not prohibit the United States from acquiring property from private owners, but rather conditions such ‘taking’ on the payment of just compensation.
Unlike direct condemnation claims, in which the United States institutes suit to compensate property owners for property it has acquired through the exercise of eminent domain, the Natural Resources Section’s jurisdiction encompasses so-called “inverse condemnation” claims. In these cases, private property owners sue the United States when they believe that some government action has interfered with the use and enjoyment of their property. Such government actions can be:
- physical in nature, such as permanent flooding of property abutting a river caused by the construction of dam, or
- regulatory in nature, such as the denial of a permit under the Clean Water Act to dredge and fill wetlands.
The number and scope of takings claims defended by the Section has grown with the changing climate disrupting the maintenance and operation of government managed projects.
One particular area in which NRS is responsible for defending Fifth Amendment takings claims involves the preservation of railroad corridors and the development of rail-trails under the National Trails System Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1247(d). In these lawsuits, the plaintiff landowners seek compensation for a taking of their property interests in these corridors due to the conversion of the corridors from active rail use to trail use and preservation for future rail use. NRS has defended claims involving rail-trails across the country, from the 240-mile Katy Trail in Missouri to the now iconic elevated High Line in Manhattan.
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