Acting attorney general asks Legislature to square Alaska gun law with federal ruling

Acting Attorney General Cori Mills on Thursday asked the next Alaska State Legislature to resolve a conflict between state and federal law on suppressors, short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns. Until lawmakers act, the Department of Law has asked police to consult state prosecutors before filing charges under the state's prohibited-weapon law, according to a department press release.

Alaska law makes possessing, making, transporting, selling or transferring a "prohibited weapon" a class C felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. The definition covers suppressors, rifles with barrels under 16 inches and shotguns with barrels under 18 inches. The law's only defense for an owner is that the item was handled "in accordance with registration under" the National Firearms Act.

That federal registration is no longer being enforced. Congress eliminated the $200 federal tax on these items effective Jan. 1. Alaska then joined 14 other states and private plaintiffs, including gun-rights groups, in a federal case in Texas arguing that ending the tax removed the legal basis for registration. On Aug. 5, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix ruled for the plaintiffs.

The Justice Department told Congress on Sept. 24 it would not appeal. On Oct. 9, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives stopped enforcing approval and registration requirements for these items nationwide. The agency's guidance says it "cannot opine" on whether unregistered items held under its policy count as registered for state-law purposes.

"The proper place for this to be resolved is in the State Legislature and I'm asking the next legislature to look at this issue, and the Department of Law stands ready to assist," Mills said. She said the result is "confusion for many Alaskans."

A partial fix is already before the Legislature. A bill from Sen. Scott Kawasaki, with five cosponsors including Sen. Cathy Tilton, would remove suppressors from the state's prohibited-weapon definition. It cleared the Senate State Affairs Committee on April 30 and has sat in the Senate Judiciary Committee since May 1. Its current version leaves short-barreled rifles and shotguns untouched. In written comments to State Affairs, Juneau resident Diane DeSloover wrote that silencers "can mask detection of criminal activity."

Until the Legislature acts, the Department of Law says it will weigh any prosecution against the federal ruling, the ATF's guidance and constitutional considerations.