Gun rights organizations are proceeding with the transfer of firearm silencers without the federal registration process following a judge's ruling that deemed decades-old restrictions unconstitutional. Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Silencer Shop, a federal firearms licensee, have informed the Trump administration of their intent to begin these transfers.
Just after midnight on Thursday, two individuals acquired silencers from a Texas-based dealer without completing the National Firearms Act (NFA) registration and approval process. This marks the first such transfer without NFA registration in 92 years, according to GOA. Aidan Johnston, GOA's director of federal affairs, stated that previous attempts to conduct such transfers would have resulted in severe penalties, including up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine per violation.
"This is the first time in 92 years that any gun owner has been able to do this," Johnston told Fox News Digital. "We took a really big bite out of it."
Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., who was present at the midnight transfers, described the ruling as "literally, the greatest Second Amendment win in the history of our country." He also confirmed that the Justice Department, under the Trump administration, would not appeal the decision.
"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, and now our members are putting the historic victory into action," said Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America. "The era of federal registration for constitutionally protected arms must end."
The legal challenge originated from changes made in a 2025 reconciliation package, which initially aimed to reduce NFA restrictions on suppressors and short-barreled firearms. Although some provisions were blocked, the final "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," signed by President Donald Trump, reduced the NFA's making and transfer taxes for suppressors and certain other firearms to $0, effective January 1, 2026.
Following this change, GOA, the Silencer Shop Foundation, and other plaintiffs sued the federal government. Their argument was that the NFA's registration and approval requirements could no longer be constitutionally justified for firearms on which Congress had removed the taxes. The Justice Department contended that other NFA taxes and Congress's authority over interstate commerce still supported the regulations.
"Congress didn’t fully repeal the law. They just reduced this 1934 tax from $200 to $0," Johnston explained. "And I think all of us could understand there’s no such thing as a $0 tax. It doesn’t raise any revenue. It’s not a tax."
U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix ruled on August 5 that the elimination of making and transfer taxes removed the constitutional basis for the regulations designed to collect them. Hendrix issued a permanent injunction blocking federal officials from enforcing the challenged requirements against the plaintiffs and their customers, though he did not issue a nationwide injunction. Hendrix noted that arguments regarding the Second Amendment would need to be addressed by Congress, stating, "Efforts to render the NFA constitutional must come from Congress, not this Court."