Some Americans can now possess short-barreled rifles, shotguns, and silencers without registering them with the federal government after the Trump administration did not seek a pause of a Texas federal judge's ruling before a court-imposed deadline expired at midnight on Thursday.
Trump administration lets Texas ruling deregulating silencers and short-barreled firearms take effect
Some Americans can now possess short-barreled rifles, shotguns, and silencers without registering them with the federal government after the Trump administration did not seek a pause of a Texas federal judge's ruling before a court-imposed deadline expired at midnight on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas issued the ruling on Aug. 5, giving the Justice Department one week to request a stay before it took effect. The department did not do so, and the deadline expired at midnight Thursday.
The National Firearms Act, enacted in 1934, imposes taxes on certain specialized firearms — including short-barreled rifles and silencers — and requires people to register them with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. That registration structure also allows ATF agents to trace firearm ownership chains in criminal investigations.
In 2025, Congress included a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminating a $200 tax on transfers or manufacture of regulated firearms. Judge Hendrix determined that, with that tax removed, the NFA's regulatory scheme for silencers, shotguns, and short-barreled rifles is unconstitutional. 'By zeroing out the transfer and making taxes on any firearm except for a machinegun or a destructive device, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated the constitutional basis for the NFA's regulation of those firearms,' he wrote.
The Texas lawsuit consolidated two separate cases. One was brought by B&T USA, Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Gun Owners Foundation, Gun Owners of America, Palmetto State Armory, Silencerco Weapons Research, Silencer Shop Foundation, 15 Republican-controlled states, and several individuals. The other was brought by the Texas State Rifle Association, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, FPC Action Foundation, Hot Shots Custom, and several others. The injunction applies only to parties in the two cases, which could include members of Gun Owners of America.
The Justice Department still has time to appeal the ruling. Attorney General Todd Blanche, in written responses to senators ahead of his confirmation, stated: 'I defer to the measured judgment of Congress on whether the NFA should be repealed or weakened. The Department's duty is to defend the constitutionality of the laws passed by this body.'
- The source does not state whether the Justice Department has made a final decision on whether to appeal the ruling.
- The source does not state how many people are covered by the injunction as members of Gun Owners of America or the other plaintiff organizations.
- The source does not state whether ATF has issued any guidance to agents on how to respond to unregistered transfers now occurring under the ruling.
- The source does not state the precise geographic or jurisdictional scope of the ruling beyond the parties to the two consolidated cases.
- The source does not state the positions of the plaintiff organizations other than Gun Owners of America and Silencer Shop on the ruling taking effect.