Right To Bear Joins Amicus Brief Defending Gun Owners From Federal Overreach in Relic and Surplus Arms Case

A man is serving a twenty-year federal prison sentence for possessing items that the government's own witnesses admitted could not fire a single projectile. Some were cut into pieces. Others were stamped "INERT" and "TRAINING AID DUMMY" by the manufacturer. One even had a hole drilled through the tube, and yet a federal court upheld the conviction in a single sentence, without examining what was actually possessed or requiring the government to justify the prosecution under the Constitution.

Right To Bear (RTB) has joined an amicus brief asking the United States Supreme Court to review this case. Alongside the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) and Palmetto State Armory (PSA), Right To Bear is standing up for the law-abiding gun owners, collectors, veterans, and history enthusiasts whose rights are directly threatened by this ruling.

What Is This Case About?

The petitioner in this case, Patrick Adamiak, was prosecuted under the National Firearms Act for possessing several military-pattern items at his home. The charges involved:

• PPSh-pattern firearm remnants that had been cut into separate pieces and required welding to function
• Grenade launcher components stored apart from one another, with receivers lawfully purchased through a federal firearms licensee
• Two RPG-7-pattern launcher tubes stamped "INERT" and "TRAINING AID DUMMY" by the manufacturer, with no firing mechanism and a hole drilled through the tube

The government's own expert witnesses acknowledged that the items in the first two counts could not fire a projectile without significant work. The inert launchers were not weapons in any operational sense.

They were relics, the kind of items found in private collections, veterans' display cases, museums, and military memorabilia shops across the country.

Despite all of this, Adamiak was sentenced to twenty years in federal prison. When he challenged the conviction on Second Amendment grounds, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the claim in a single sentence, citing two prior circuit decisions and declaring the issue "squarely foreclosed."

The court never examined what was actually charged. It never required the government to provide a historical basis for the prosecution. It simply moved on.

Why Right To Bear Joined This Brief

The Fourth Circuit's one-sentence dismissal of a serious constitutional claim is exactly the kind of judicial shortcut that erodes gun rights across the country. RTB joined this amicus brief for several reasons that go to the heart of our mission.

First

Our members include collectors, veterans, former military servicemembers, and responsible gun owners who legally buy, display, and possess military-pattern relics and demilitarized surplus. The legal theory the government advanced in this case, that inoperable, inert, and de-milled items can be prosecuted as functional weapons, puts those members at real legal risk for lawful activity.

Second

The Second Amendment is not a second-class right. The Supreme Court has said this clearly and repeatedly.

A constitutional guarantee that can be dismissed without examining the actual conduct and without requiring the government to justify the prosecution historically is not being treated as a serious right at all. RTB exists to make sure gun owners have legal protection and advocacy when it matters most.

This is exactly that moment.

Third

The precedent being set here extends far beyond one defendant. If federal courts can uphold prosecutions for possessing inert items without engaging in the analysis the Supreme Court requires, that methodology will be used again.

Every collector, reenactor, museum curator, and military memorabilia enthusiast in the country has a stake in how this case is decided.

Who Joined This Brief

RTB filed this amicus brief alongside two aligned organizations:

• The National Association for Gun Rights, a nonprofit organization with a long record of Second Amendment litigation before the Supreme Court and federal appellate courts
• Palmetto State Armory, one of the nation's largest manufacturers and retailers of firearms, whose mission is to make quality firearms accessible to law-abiding Americans

Together, these three organizations represent a broad coalition of gun owners, industry participants, and legal advocates who believe the Fourth Circuit's decision cannot stand without correction from the Supreme Court.

What an Amicus Brief Actually Is

An amicus curiae brief, which translates from Latin as "friend of the court," is a legal document filed by a party that is not directly involved in a lawsuit but has a relevant interest in its outcome. Courts are not required to accept them, but at the appellate level and before the Supreme Court, they are common and often influential.

An amicus brief does not introduce new evidence. It offers legal arguments, historical context, policy analysis, and perspectives the court might not otherwise have. When organizations like Right To Bear, NAGR, and Palmetto State Armory file together, they are telling the court that real people with real stakes in the outcome are paying attention, and that the decision will have consequences far beyond the two parties in the courtroom.

Dig Deeper: What Is an Amicus Brief and Why It Matters for Gun Owners

Why This Case Matters Nationally

The Supreme Court has established a clear methodology for evaluating Second Amendment claims, built across three foundational decisions: Heller, McDonald, and Bruen. That framework requires courts to examine the actual conduct at issue and to make the government prove that any restriction is consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.

The Fourth Circuit skipped both steps, and in doing so, it created a self-reinforcing loop. By relying on prior circuit decisions that themselves avoided the required historical analysis, the court built a wall that blocks Second Amendment claims before the real constitutional inquiry ever begins.

The stakes of that methodology are enormous. If it stands, it means:

• Federal courts in the Fourth Circuit can dismiss Second Amendment challenges without examining what was actually possessed
• The government bears no burden to find a historical analogue for prosecutions of inert or demilitarized items
• Law-abiding collectors and hobbyists face decades in prison for possessing items sold openly in the American market
• The Second Amendment receives less rigorous protection than the First or Fourth Amendment

The historical record actually cuts the other way. From the Founding era's private artillery companies and privateer fleets, through the post-Civil War surplus market, through the federal Civilian Marksmanship Program established in 1905, the American tradition has consistently recognized civilian possession of military-pattern arms, including surplus and relics, as lawful and at times actively encouraged.

The National Firearms Act itself contains a carve-out for surplus ordnance. Congress does not write exceptions for things it considers criminal.

What Leadership Is Saying

"Right To Bear was founded to protect law-abiding Americans before and after a self-defense incident, and that protection extends to the courtroom," said Right To Bear. "The twenty-year sentence that was forced upon Patrick Adamiak for possessing items the government's own witnesses said couldn't fire a projectile is not justice. It is the kind of outcome that happens when courts stop applying the Constitution seriously. We are proud to stand with NAGR and Palmetto State Armory in asking the Supreme Court to correct that."

Stay Informed and Stay Protected

This case is still working its way toward the Supreme Court, and the outcome will matter for gun owners in all fifty states. RTB will continue to follow it closely and will participate in the legal process on behalf of our members wherever we are able.

If you want an organization in your corner that does more than issue statements, one that actually shows up in court, sign up for a Right To Bear membership today. Membership starts at just $19 a month and includes a 24/7 attorney hotline, criminal and civil defense coverage, firearm replacement, and the kind of legal advocacy on display in this case.

While we were founded on the belief that no American deserves to be crushed under the full legal burden of defending themselves in court after a legal self-defense weapons use, we understand that we can’t truly defend our members if we are not also active in the legal community. Through our partnerships with NAGR and PSA, we advance that mission everyday while providing a membership service Americans truly deserve.

Become a part of the movement today.