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18 

JOHNSON v. UNITED STATES 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

hidden under a coat, tucked into a bag, or stowed under a 
car seat.  And like a handgun, they can be fired with one 
hand—except  to  more  lethal  effect.    These  weapons  thus
combine  the  deadly  characteristics  of  conventional  shot­
guns  with  the  more  convenient  handling  of  handguns.
Unlike  those  common  firearms,  however,  they  are  not 
typically  possessed  for  lawful  purposes.    And  when  a 
person  illegally  possesses  a  sawed-off  shotgun  during  the
commission  of  a  crime,  the  risk  of  violence  is  seriously 
increased.  The  ordinary  case  of  unlawful  possession  of  a 
sawed-off  shotgun  therefore  “presents  a  serious  potential 
risk of physical injury to another.”  §922(e)(2)(B)(ii). 

Congress’ treatment of sawed-off shotguns confirms this 
judgment.    As  the  Government’s  initial  brief  colorfully
recounts,  sawed-off  shotguns  were  a  weapon  of  choice  for 
gangsters  and  bank  robbers  during  the  Prohibition  Era. 
See  Brief  for  United  States  4.9    In  response,  Congress 
enacted the National Firearms Act of 1934, which required
individuals possessing certain especially dangerous weap­
ons—including  sawed-off  shotguns—to  register  with  the
Federal  Government  and  pay  a  special  tax.  26  U. S. C. 
§§5845(a)(1)–(2).  The Act was passed on the understand­
ing  that  “while  there  is  justification  for  permitting  the
citizen  to  keep  a  pistol  or  revolver  for  his  own  protection
without  any  restriction,  there  is  no  reason  why  anyone 

—————— 

9 Al  Capone’s  south-side  Chicago  henchmen  used  sawed-off  shotguns
when  they  executed  their  rivals  from  Bugs  Moran’s  north-side  gang 
during  the  infamous  Saint  Valentine’s  Day  Massacre  of  1929.  See  7
Chicago  Gangsters  Slain  by  Firing  Squad  of  Rivals,  Some  in  Police 
Uniforms,  N. Y.  Times,  Feb.  15,  1929,  p.  A1.  Wild  Bill  Rooney  was
gunned  down  in  Chicago  by  a  “sawed-off  shotgun  [that]  was  pointed
through a rear window” of a passing automobile.  Union Boss Slain by
Gang  in  Chicago,  N.  Y.  Times,  Mar.  20,  1931,  p.  52.    And  when  the  
infamous  outlaws  Bonnie  and  Clyde  were  killed  by  the  police  in  1934,
Clyde was found “clutching a sawed-off shotgun in one hand.”  Barrow 
and  Woman  are  Slain  by  Police  in  Louisiana  Trap,  N.  Y.  Times,  May
24, 1934, p. A1.