SAN ANGELO, Texas — A United States district judge just granted a significant victory to gun owners in a case that will shape the battle to determine whether the National Firearms Act continues to exist in its current format, and whether the federal government can continue to use the measure to regulate commonly owned arms such as suppressors and short-barreled firearms.
On August 5, United States District Judge James Wesley Hendrix issued a 66-page order and decision in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, a case out of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (San Angelo Division). Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF is the lead case, as consolidated with a related case, Jensen v. ATF. The case is backed by a coalition of gun rights groups along with numerous industry manufacturers and 15 states.
“We are delighted with the ruling from Judge Hendrix,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “With the tax no longer in existence, there was no logical reason for the ATF’s registration requirement to continue. With this victory setting a precedent, we anticipate success in the other cases involving our sister organization, SAF.”
The case brings an Article I (enumerated powers) challenge against the federal government’s ability to regulate certain firearms under the National Firearms Act’s taxing power. The complaint was filed on July 4, 2025, the same day President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” ending the $200 excise tax on certain NFA items.
The complaint logically asserts that without the tax, “…the constitutional foundation on which the NFA rested has dissolved.”
Judge Hendrix wholeheartedly agreed, writing, “Because today’s NFA does not generate any revenue from untaxed firearms, its regulatory provisions cannot be upheld under the taxing power.”
He also took the reasoning further, stating, “And there is no sign in the NFA’s text, structure, or statutory history that Congress invoked any other power in crafting the NFA provisions at issue. Thus, the regulatory provisions must be enjoined as unconstitutional because they exceed Congress’s enumerated powers.”
While gun owners lamented the 2025 bill as not going far enough, it appears that the Republican-led compromise to end the $200 tax may have unwittingly dealt the final blow to the NFA, at least from Judge Hendrix’s perspective.
Judge Hendrix observes, “By zeroing out the transfer and making taxes for most NFA firearms, Congress eliminated the constitutional basis for the regulations that formerly supported the taxes for those firearms. No longer can the challenged NFA provisions be justified – as they have been for nearly 90 years – under Congress’s taxing power.”
Plaintiffs requested a universal injunction (meaning applicable to those who are not party to the lawsuit), but the judge believed that to be beyond the court’s powers:
Remedy-wise, the plaintiffs in both cases are entitled to a permanent injunction barring enforcement of the challenged NFA provisions against them, their members, and their customers. But that is as far as it goes. Federal courts lack power to issue universal injunctions that provide relief to parties not before the Court.
The narrow injunctive relief is a fact lamented by the Second Amendment Foundation, which wrote, “Thanks to Trump v. CASA, and has become the norm now, relief will be limited to members of the plaintiff orgs.” According to an SAF post, the injunction applies specifically to Texas State Rifle Association, FPC Action Foundation, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, and Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition.
The “untaxed” NFA firearms affected by the injunction include short-barreled shotguns, short-barreled rifles, silencers, and any other weapons, although the decision notes that the “…permanent injunction does not extend to the NFA’s regulation of AOWs as it relates to the Jensen plaintiffs, as those plaintiffs lack standing with respect to those firearms.”
The decision specifically names the federal appointees and agencies that are affected by the permanent injunction:
…the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Department of Justice, Todd Blanche in his official capacity, Robert Cekada in his official capacity, their divisions, bureaus, agents, officers, commissioners, employees, and anyone acting in concert or participation with them, including their successors in office, are permanently enjoined from enforcing the challenged NFA provisions as to untaxed firearms against the plaintiffs…
Gun rights groups and industry watchdogs will be observing closely to see what the Trump administration and its DOJ decide to do in this case. An appeal is expected (the injunction is stayed for seven days to allow time for an appeal), but would be contrary to the directive from an administration that has vowed to protect the Second Amendment.
The other gun rights groups supporting the case include Silencer Shop Foundation, Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Texas State Rifle Association, FPC Action Foundation, and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
