DOJ Won’t Appeal Ruling Against NFA, Handing Gun Owners Historic Win
The Justice Department declined to seek an emergency stay of a landmark federal ruling that blocks enforcement of key National Firearms Act requirements for suppressors, short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns.
U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix ruled Aug. 5 that the federal government could no longer enforce the challenged registration and transfer provisions after Congress reduced the NFA’s underlying $200 tax to zero.
The Justice Department had seven days to request emergency intervention but allowed the deadline to expire. The ruling took effect at midnight Thursday, clearing the way for what gun-rights advocates described as the first lawful transfer of an unregistered suppressor in 92 years.
Judge Says Tax Removal Undermined NFA Requirements
Congress enacted the National Firearms Act in 1934 using its constitutional taxing power.
The law imposed a $200 tax on the manufacture and transfer of certain weapons, including suppressors and short-barreled firearms. It also established federal registration, fingerprinting and approval requirements administered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
At the time, $200 represented an enormous financial obstacle for ordinary Americans.
Congress eliminated the tax as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, with the change taking effect Jan. 1, 2026.
Gun Owners of America and other plaintiffs subsequently challenged the remaining regulatory requirements, arguing that once the tax disappeared, the government could no longer justify the registration system as necessary to administer and collect revenue.
Hendrix agreed with the challengers in Jensen v. ATF.
The ruling’s precise reach and application outside the parties to the case could still face further legal interpretation, but the Justice Department’s decision not to seek an immediate stay allowed the ordered relief to take effect.
Trump DOJ Declines Emergency Appeal
Rep. Andrew Clyde, a Georgia Republican and gun-store owner who helped lead the congressional effort to eliminate the tax, confirmed that the Trump administration would not challenge the ruling on an emergency basis.
In a statement provided to The New York Times, the Justice Department said it “respects Americans’ Second Amendment rights and is currently assessing the impact of the court’s ruling.”
The department could continue evaluating its broader legal options. Its decision not to seek an emergency stay, however, meant that the government did not block the immediate implementation of Hendrix’s order.
For Second Amendment advocates, that decision represented a critical difference between winning a favorable ruling on paper and seeing it produce real-world results.
Clyde Explains Constitutional Argument
Clyde argued that government should not be permitted to price Americans out of exercising a constitutional right.
“If you can tax something legitimately, then you can actually destroy it through increased taxation,” Clyde told Fox News.
“You might, quote, ‘have a right on paper,’ but you don’t really have a right because you can’t afford the right. Is that really a right? It’s not.”
He said eliminating the tax also removed the foundation used to support the NFA registration system.
“So here we are removing the taxation on a constitutional right from a bill that was passed in 1934,” Clyde continued.
“And once you remove the tax aspect of it, then you remove the constitutionality of the registration aspect.”
Clyde described the outcome as “literally, the greatest Second Amendment win in the history of our country.”
First Unregistered Suppressor Transfer Completed
Silencer Shop, one of the plaintiffs in Jensen v. ATF, reportedly completed the first unregistered suppressor transfer shortly after the ruling took effect.
“Proud to be making history with you!” the company wrote on X.
Aidan Johnston, Gun Owners of America’s director of federal affairs, emphasized the significance of the transaction.
“This is the first time in 92 years that any gun owner has been able to do this,” Johnston said.
The transfer represented a concrete departure from the system that had existed since June 26, 1934. Under that framework, obtaining a suppressor generally required federal paperwork, fingerprints, registration, ATF approval and payment of the tax.
Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, said the decision should mark the beginning of a broader restoration of gun rights.
“The era of federal registration for constitutionally protected arms must end,” Pratt said.
Machine-Gun Restrictions Remain
The decision does not erase every federal firearms restriction established under or alongside the National Firearms Act.
Restrictions involving machine guns rest on additional statutory and constitutional grounds and remain in place.
The ruling instead targets registration and transfer requirements for categories affected by Congress’ elimination of the $200 tax, including suppressors and short-barreled firearms.
Other federal and state laws may also continue to apply. Gun owners and dealers must therefore evaluate the ruling’s scope and the laws governing their particular jurisdiction before completing a transfer.
A Coordinated Second Amendment Victory
The breakthrough followed a series of actions across all three branches of government.
Congress reduced the tax to zero. Gun-rights organizations challenged the remaining mandates in federal court. Hendrix ruled that the registration structure could not continue on the same constitutional foundation, and the Trump Justice Department chose not to block the decision through an emergency appeal.
For Second Amendment supporters, the result is more than symbolic.
After nearly a century of federal taxation, registration and paperwork, the first affected transfer reportedly occurred within hours of the ruling taking effect.