Suppressors sold unregistered for the first time since FDR, but not for everyone
For nearly 100 years, buying a gun suppressor, a component that lowers the sound of gunfire, meant going through the National Firearms Act’s federal registration process. It entailed hundreds of dollars and months of waiting.
A Texas federal judge’s ruling has turned that requirement on its head, leading to a transaction there that has not happened since 1934.
But the ruling doesn’t mean anyone with the cash and a clean background can walk into a gun shop and walk out with a new suppressor, leading to confusion across the country.
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U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix delayed enforcement of his Aug. 5 decision striking down the NFA permit requirement for suppressors for one week, giving the federal government time to try to keep it on hold. That window closed Thursday without the Justice Department seeking a stay.
The department still has time to appeal.
“The Department respects Americans’ Second Amendment rights and is currently assessing the impact of the court’s ruling,” a Justice Department spokesperson told CBS News.
What changed
The case centers on the National Firearms Act of 1934, which regulates certain firearms and accessories, including suppressors, short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns.
For decades, the law required people to register those items with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and pay a $200 tax when making or transferring them.
Congress later set that tax at $0 for several categories of NFA-regulated firearms through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Hendrix ruled that once those taxes stopped raising revenue, the federal government could no longer rely on Congress’ taxing power to support the related registration and approval requirements.
Who the ruling covers
The ruling does not automatically apply to every gun owner nationwide.
Hendrix did not issue a nationwide injunction. The two consolidated lawsuits were brought by gun rights organizations, firearms companies, Republican-led states and individual plaintiffs, and the court’s protection extends from those plaintiffs to certain affiliated members, businesses and customers.
In practice, that creates an uneven system. Whether someone can acquire a suppressor without NFA registration can depend on their membership, the business involved and the laws in their state.
The first practical test came shortly after the injunction took effect. Gun Owners of America and Silencer Shop said two GOA members acquired suppressors at a Silencer Shop storefront in Leander, Texas, without completing the NFA registration process blocked by the court.
News of the transaction has led to a rush on gun shops from people looking to immediately buy suppressors elsewhere. Gun shops, fearing the legal gray area between the ruling and how federal regulators will interpret it, aren’t changing their requirements.
What did not change
But losing that NFA requirement does not mean those purchases are now free of federal regulation.
Kostas Moros, director of legal research and education for the Second Amendment Foundation, told Straight Arrow suppressor buyers still must comply with the Gun Control Act. That means the same standard federal background checks required to buy a gun still apply for commercial suppressor purchases.
Short-barreled rifles and shotguns present another complication. Moros said a separate federal law generally prevents licensed dealers from transferring those weapons unless the attorney general specifically authorizes it. With the usual NFA approval process blocked for people covered by the ruling, he said ATF may need to clarify how dealers should proceed.
The NRA said that without further government action, dealers may still need to follow the previous NFA procedures when transferring short-barreled rifles and shotguns.
“The NFA is not dead,” Moros said. “Background checks are still required for purchases. Only the NFA registration goes away for certain categories of arms and for certain people.”
State laws also still matter. Some state laws ban suppressors or require NFA registration. The Texas ruling does not erase those state restrictions.
Gun rights groups celebrate
The gun rights groups tested the ruling’s immediate effect at the Leander storefront just after midnight. GOA described the transactions there as the first suppressor transfers completed without the federal registration process since 1934.
“For nearly a century, Americans have been forced to beg the federal government for permission to exercise their Second Amendment rights,” said Aidan Johnston, GOA’s director of federal affairs. “That changes tonight.”
The court victory is already becoming a political fight over whether the same rules should apply nationwide.
Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and dozens of Republican lawmakers urged Attorney General Todd Blanche this week not to appeal. They also asked the Justice Department to apply the ruling nationwide and begin rulemaking to make that change permanent.
Gun control groups warn of risk
Gun control groups argue that allowing the injunction to take effect weakens longstanding safeguards.
“At midnight, uniquely lethal weapons and devices — including silencers, short-barreled rifles, and shotguns — were deregulated for the first time in nearly a century,” said Kris Brown, president of Brady, according to CBS.
Adam Skaggs, vice president and chief counsel at Giffords Law Center, called the ruling a “dangerous step backward for public safety” and argued that suppressors can make active shooters harder for law enforcement to detect and locate, while short-barreled rifles and shotguns are easier to conceal.
Giffords has described the decision as striking down background check and registration requirements under the National Firearms Act. Moros and the American Suppressor Association say a separate background-check requirement remains under the Gun Control Act, meaning commercial suppressor purchases still require the standard federal background check even when the NFA registration process is blocked.