Second Amendment

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Echo Scheidt

Case No.: 23-2567

Officials: Brennan, Scudder, and Lee, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Second Amendment

Echo Scheidt was convicted for knowingly providing false information on a Firearms Transaction Record (ATF Form 4473) during five separate gun purchases. Scheidt then resold the firearms, two of which were later used in shootings, including a murder. The false information involved her residential address, which she misrepresented on the forms. Authorities traced the firearms back to her after the shootings.

Scheidt faced indictment on five counts of knowingly making false written statements likely to deceive a firearms dealer, under 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6), and one count of knowingly making a false statement to a government agent, under 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a). She moved to dismiss the five § 922(a)(6) counts, arguing that the statute criminalized behavior protected by the Second Amendment. However, the district court denied the motion, asserting that the conduct prohibited by § 922(a)(6) doesn’t enjoy Second Amendment protection. Scheidt pleaded guilty to all charges and received an 18-month prison sentence.

Scheidt appealed her conviction, arguing that § 922(a)(6) violates the Second Amendment. She claimed that her right to purchase a firearm was contingent on completing ATF Form 4473, and that § 922(a)(6) further conditioned her right to possess a firearm by requiring honesty. Nonetheless, the court disagreed, stating that standard information-providing requirements, such as those on ATF Form 4473 and enforced through criminal statutes like § 922(a)(6), don’t infringe upon the right to keep and bear arms. The court upheld her conviction, concluding that the Second Amendment doesn’t shield purchasers from knowingly providing false information on ATF Form 4473.

Affirmed.

Decided 06/07/24

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