U.S. Army veteran Paul Murphy has requested the federal court to rule in his favor and grant his motion for summary judgement against the ban on gun silencers, which he said violates the 2nd and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
Murphy, filing pro se or representing himself, requested the District Court for the NMI for a declaratory judgment that the ban on suppressors is unconstitutional.
Likewise, Murphy requested the court to issue a permanent injunction enjoining the Department of Public Safety from enforcing the ban on silencers, sound suppressors or sound moderators.
In his motion for summary judgment filed on Monday, Murphy cited federal rules on civil procedure and said, “The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
He reiterated his previous argument that in “previous litigation this court found that provisions which banned these instruments to include a flash suppressor were unconstitutional. With over three million silencers, suppressors and sound moderators owned by Americans this is in common use for lawful purposes.”
In 2016, Murphy won his lawsuit against DPS, which he sued to stop the enforcement of the Commonwealth Weapons Act and the Special Act for Firearms and Enforcement or SAFE.
In 2020, Murphy filed another complaint against DPS for enforcing gun-law provisions found unconstitutional. The challenged provisions carried felony criminal penalties for violations, including fines of up to $25,000 and incarceration of up to 10 years in prison.
In his recent complaint, he based his lawsuit on 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for deprivation of civil rights under color of law. He is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief in challenging the CNMI’s Weapons Control Act and the CNMI’s SAFE Act.
According to 6 CMC § 2222(a), “It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive a firearm silencer, except as authorized by law.”
Under CNMI P.L. 19-42 §208(a)(2), “No person shall possess: A silencer, sound suppressor or sound moderator.”
Murphy said that pursuant to the Covenant to establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in political union with the United States of America, the 2nd and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution are applicable to the CNMI.
In his lawsuit, Murphy stated that on Aug. 9, 2023, then-DPS Commissioner Clement R. Bermudes denied his request for firearm possession of a Maxim Defense POX-SD pistol chambered in 5.56 NATO with a built-in “soup can” suppressor.
On June 24, 2024, Bermudes’ successor, DPS Commissioner Anthony Macaranas, denied Murphy’s request for possession of a Banish 30 suppressor and a Ruger MKIV-SD Integral Suppressor 22 caliber pistol, the lawsuit stated.
In his lawsuit, Murphy named Macaranas, in his official capacity, as defendant.
District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 31 at 10:30 a.m.
