BY JENNIFER CABRERA
ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – In an October 11 memorandum, 8th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Brian Kramer said recent federal guidance could limit when law enforcement may use the possession of firearm suppressors or short-barreled weapons as grounds for a search or seizure.
Kramer cited an October 9 announcement from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives stating that the agency would stop enforcing federal registration requirements for short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and suppressors.
The policy shift followed a federal lawsuit, Silencer Shop Foundation v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case concluded that National Firearms Act provisions covering those items could no longer be upheld after Congress reduced the related transfer taxes to zero. Although the ruling first applied only to members of Gun Owners of America, the ATF’s October 9 guidance broadened its reach to anyone legally permitted to possess firearms.
Kramer said Florida law does not ban firearms that are legally owned and possessed under federal law. He also pointed to Rinzler v. Carson, which he said reinforced the principle that legal ambiguity “must be resolved in favor of the person against whom criminal liability is asserted.” In the case of suppressors, Kramer wrote, the issue is “even simpler” because Florida statutes do not “independently prohibit suppressor possession.”
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According to Kramer, the federal developments “affect probable cause and the constitutional basis for searches and seizures.” As a result, he said, the “mere possession” of a suppressor or short-barreled firearm should not alone be used to justify a detention, search, seizure, arrest or search warrant.
Kramer added that officers should no longer presume these weapons or devices are illegal simply because someone possesses them. He stressed, however, that the guidance does not override other laws that could make firearm possession unlawful based on the individual involved, the weapon itself, the location or the manner in which it is used.
