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Humorous ruling on silencers

Innovator Enterprises v. United States, D.D.C., Mar. 19, 2014.

ATF ruled that a sample muzzle brake submitted for testing was a silencer. But it turned out that, while ATF has equipment to measure sound levels, it doesn't use them to test samples. Instead it used it to establish that certain features are consistent with being a silencer, and then just looks at the sample to see if it has those features. Which is rather like determining that competitive racing cars have transmissions with five or more speeds, thus any auto with five or more speeds is ready to enter the Indy 500. Or, for that matter, ATF is a federal agency, FBI is a federal agency, so ATF is FBI.

As the judge notes,

"A mouse is not an "elephant" solely because it has three characteristics that are common to known elephants: a tail, gray skin, and four legs. A child's bike is not a "motorcycle" solely because it has three characteristics common to known motorcycles: two rubber tires, handlebars, and a leather seat. And a Bud Light is not "Single-Malt Scotch," just because it is frequently served in a glass container, contains alcohol, and is available for purchase at a tavern."

via John Frazier's gun law blog.