Two gun owners acquired silencers from a Texas firearms dealer just after midnight on Thursday without completing the National Firearms Act registration and approval process, following a ruling by US District Judge James Wesley Hendrix that struck down those requirements as constitutionally unsupported, according to Gun Owners of America.
Gun rights groups begin silencer transfers without NFA registration after federal court ruling
Two gun owners acquired silencers from a Texas firearms dealer just after midnight on Thursday without completing the National Firearms Act registration and approval process, following a ruling by US District Judge James Wesley Hendrix that struck down those requirements as constitutionally unsupported, according to Gun Owners of America.
Hendrix, a Trump appointee, issued his ruling on Aug. 5, finding that once Congress reduced the NFA's making and transfer taxes on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and certain other weapons to $0 — effective Jan. 1, 2026 — the regulations that had existed to help collect those taxes lost their constitutional footing. He permanently blocked federal officials from enforcing the challenged requirements against the plaintiffs and, where applicable, their members and customers, but declined to issue a nationwide injunction. Hendrix did not rule on the plaintiffs' separate Second Amendment argument, writing that 'Efforts to render the NFA constitutional must come from Congress, not this Court.'
The tax reduction was included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Donald Trump. The legislation originally included broader efforts to roll back NFA restrictions, but the Senate parliamentarian blocked portions of that deregulation push under reconciliation rules. The final law reduced the longstanding making and transfer taxes to $0 for the specified weapon categories.
The same day Trump signed the law, Gun Owners of America, the Silencer Shop Foundation, and other plaintiffs filed suit against the federal government, arguing the NFA's registration and approval requirements could no longer constitutionally stand for weapons on which Congress had eliminated the underlying tax. Fifteen states later joined the challenge.
The Justice Department had argued in the litigation that the remaining regulations could still be supported by other NFA taxes and Congress' authority over interstate commerce. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., said Wednesday he had received confirmation from the Trump administration that the Justice Department would not appeal Hendrix's decision.
GOA said Brandon Herrera and Texas state Rep. Wes Virdell acquired suppressors from Silencer Shop in Leander, Texas, in what the group described as the first lawful silencer transfers without NFA registration since the law was enacted in 1934.
- The source does not state whether the Justice Department has issued a formal, on-the-record confirmation that it will not appeal, or whether Clyde's account of that confirmation is the sole source.
- The source does not state which 15 states joined the legal challenge.
- The source does not describe the scope of Silencer Shop's customer base or how many transfers may proceed under the ruling.
- The source does not state whether any other federal agencies beyond the Justice Department have issued guidance on compliance with or enforcement of the ruling.
- The source does not establish whether the ruling affects individuals and dealers outside the named plaintiffs, given that Hendrix declined to issue a nationwide injunction.
- The source does not include any response or statement from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regarding the ruling or the transfers that took place.
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