Federal Judge Strikes Down NFA Gun Restrictions; DOJ Declines Stay

For nearly a century, the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) has stood between law-abiding Americans and the right to keep and bear arms. In order to purchase suppressors and short-barreled firearms, Americans have been forced to comply with federal registration, application, fingerprinting, and photograph regulations, as well as a $200 tax-stamp requirement. These unconstitutional restrictions suffered a historic setback in August because of a lawsuit brought by Gun Owners of America (GOA), Gun Owners Foundation, Silencer Shop, a coalition of manufacturers and individuals, and 15 states.

On August 5, 2026, Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a permanent injunction in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, barring the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from enforcing the challenged requirements against the plaintiffs, their members, and the customers of commercial plaintiffs. The Department of Justice (DOJ) did not attempt to stay the ruling within the seven-day window provided by the judge, allowing the injunction to take effect on August 13.

This ruling is based upon changes enacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (OBBBA), which eliminated the $200 NFA tax on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and “any other weapons.” Judge Hendrix rejected the government’s attempt to salvage the NFA scheme under the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause, and determined that when Congress removed the tax originally used to justify the NFA, the remaining registration and regulatory requirements became unenforceable.

Judge Hendrix wrote, “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.”

First Transfers Without NFA Registration

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 took effect in 1934. After formal notice to the DOJ and ATF, the transfers occurred at Silencer Shop’s storefront in Leander, Texas, through an ATF Form 4473 background check.

Erich Pratt, senior vice president of GOA, declared, “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 when the transfers took place, and stated, “Today marks a tremendous milestone … a restoration of our constitutional right to keep and bear arms that has been violated since 1934.”

Narrow but Unprecedented Progress

This legal victory is narrow in scope. The permanent injunction currently protects only the plaintiffs and their members and customers, and the ruling did not declare the NFA inherently unconstitutional. A full nationwide end to the NFA will require a broader appellate victory or, preferably, congressional action. Nevertheless, this progress is unprecedented. For the first time in 92 years, Americans have acquired suppressors without submitting to federal registration.

The effort to protect our rights continues. Herrera stated that he would continue working with GOA “to help be the tip of the spear fighting for gun owners, constitutional rights, and civil rights of not only Texans, but all Americans.”

DOJ Opens Path to Restore Federal Firearm Rights

In a related development, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a new process allowing eligible Americans to seek restoration of their federal firearm rights. The rule revives the relief process under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c), which had been effectively unavailable for more than three decades. More than 30 million Americans who have lost their Second Amendment rights will now have 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 that their record and subsequent conduct show they are not likely to pose a danger to public safety and that restoration is not contrary to the public interest.

This reform, combined with the recent court victory against NFA registration requirements, marks further progress in restoring the God-given right to keep and bear arms for law-abiding citizens.

Lawsuits Are the Last Resort

Court victories, while essential, should not be the primary means of securing our God-given, constitutionally protected rights. The Founders designed a system of limited government in which Congress is bound to operate within its enumerated powers. State governments must refuse to comply with unconstitutional federal acts, and every branch of government must reject judicial supremacy and fulfill its duty to enforce the Constitution, including the Second Amendment. The NFA’s continued existence itself is just one example of the government abandoning that duty.

Protecting the right to keep and bear arms requires legislators who will uphold the Constitution; understand that rights come from God, not government; and fully repeal the NFA and other infringing legislation. Until then, lawsuits remain a necessary last resort.

The Second Amendment does not merely protect a second-class right. An armed citizenry remains essential “to the security of a free State.” This narrow but historic ruling proves that sustained pressure can compel the federal government to retreat from unconstitutional restrictions. Americans must now demand that Congress finish the job and repeal the NFA.