Malcolm J. Bezet v. United States

Malcolm J. Bezet challenged, under the Tenth Amendment, Necessary and Proper Clause, and the Second Amendment, provisions of the Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968 (Title 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44) and the National Firearms Act (NFA) (Title 26 U.S.C. Chapter 53) that prevent or hinder his ability to obtain effective weapons that are part of the ordinary military equipment and whose use could contribute to the common defense of the State of Louisiana and which are the most effective for defending his person, home, and family. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found no violation of the Tenth Amendment and Necessary and Proper Clause, holding that the Congress' power to tax enables it to enact regulatory schemes within the several states to accomplish objects wholly unrelated to the collection of revenue and that the Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce allows it to criminalize wholly intrastate, wholly noncommercial behavior, mere possession, for a purpose unrelated to the regulation of interstate commerce. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found no violation of the Second Amendment, holding that the effectiveness of a weapon in the service of a militia or in defending an individual citizen's home and person is irrelevant to determining whether the possession of that weapon is protected because the Second Amendment only protects weapons that are in common use, and that the Federal Government can criminalize or regulate the possession of uncommon