Gun rights organizations have begun transferring gun silencers without adhering to the National Firearms Act's registration and approval process, following a federal judge's ruling that invalidated decades-old restrictions as unconstitutional. Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Silencer Shop, a federal firearms licensee, notified the Trump administration of their intent to proceed with these transfers.
Just after midnight on Thursday, two individuals reportedly acquired silencers from a Texas firearms dealer without completing the federal registration and approval steps, according to GOA. This marks the first such transfers without National Firearms Act registration since the law's enactment in 1934, an organization spokesperson stated.
"This is the first time in 92 years that any gun owner has been able to do this," Aidan Johnston, GOA's director of federal affairs, told Fox News Digital. "Previously, this would have been punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine per violation. So, this was a big federal law. We took a really big bite out of it."
The legal basis for this development traces back to the 2025 reconciliation package, which included provisions aimed at reducing restrictions on suppressors and short-barreled firearms. While some deregulation efforts were blocked under reconciliation rules, the final One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by President Donald Trump, reduced the National Firearms Act's making and transfer taxes for suppressors and certain other firearms to $0, effective January 1, 2026.
Following the tax reduction, GOA, the Silencer Shop Foundation, and other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit arguing that the National Firearms Act's registration and approval requirements were no longer constitutionally valid for weapons on which Congress had eliminated the associated tax. The Justice Department contended that other NFA taxes and Congress's authority over interstate commerce could still support the regulations.
U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, a Trump appointee, ruled on August 5 that the elimination of making and transfer taxes rendered the regulations designed to collect those taxes constitutionally unsupported. Hendrix permanently blocked federal officials from enforcing the challenged requirements against the plaintiffs and their customers. However, the judge noted that efforts to ensure the NFA's constitutionality should originate from Congress, not the courts, when addressing the Second Amendment arguments.
Representative Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., who was involved in drafting legislation that preceded the ruling, described it as "the greatest Second Amendment win in the history of our country." He also indicated that the Justice Department under the Trump administration would not appeal the decision.