Gun Rights Groups Celebrate Victory in NFA Challenge

On Wednesday, a court ruled that continued requirements for the registration of suppressors and short-barreled long guns were unconstitutional. This is a huge win since, well, the registration was only supposed to be about who paid the tax and who didn’t. To say this was a point of contention with the Trump administration is putting it mildly.

And it’s an important victory, though an incomplete one.

Still, gun rights groups are thrilled. Especially the Second Amendment Foundation, which was a plaintiff in a couple of similar cases.

From a press release:

“The basis for each lawsuit challenging the NFA registration scheme is the same – without the tax, the remaining requirements for the affected arms under the NFA have no constitutional basis,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “And today the first court to rule on the issue has agreed with us. We’re eager to continue this fight and leave major portions of the NFA in the dustbin of history. A big win is a great way to kick things off.” 

SAF itself is a named plaintiff in NFA lawsuit Brown v. ATF and is backing two additional challenges – Roberts v. ATF and this case, Jensen v. ATF. Plaintiffs in Jensen are SAF sister organization – Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, FPC Action Foundation, Texas Rifle Association, Hot Shots Custom and three individuals.

“The removal of the $200 tax in the One Big Beautiful Bill offers the best opportunity to remove the NFA registration requirements that we’ve had in almost a century,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “We are thrilled the court ruled in our favor and look forward to other jurisdictions following suit in our remaining NFA cases. This ruling will set a precedent we can now argue in courts across the country to allow Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights without fear of being placed on some government registry.”  

Gun Owners of America is also celebrating the win since, well, they’re a plaintiff in this particular ruling.

“This is a historic victory for the Second Amendment. The federal government kept [sic] its registry of guns after Congress has eliminated the gun tax. The court correctly recognized that the ATF cannot continue enforcing the NFA’s unconstitutional restrictions against law-abiding Americans. GOA will never stop fighting to protect the right to keep and bear arms,” said senior vice president Erich Pratt in a statement.

GOA’s director for federal affairs Aidan Johnson echoed those sentiments in his own statement: “Last year, GOA worked with Congress and President Trump to eliminate a nearly 100-year-old tax on suppressors and short-barreled firearms. Today’s decision affirms what GOA members have been saying all along: the archaic National Firearms Act of 1934 and its federal gun registry is unconstitutional.”

Honestly, everyone should celebrate. Either every challenge is ruled the same way or we get a conflict, which means it goes to the Supreme Court to decide. While there’s no guarantee that the Court will accept the case, when there is conflict, you’re more likely to see the Supreme Court interested in stepping in.

I think, however, that especially after the Second Amendment cases over the last handful of years, there’s really no way at all I can see this case actually finding justification for the registry. I won’t say judges can’t do it, because we know they can. I just don’t think the Supreme Court will let it stand in the long run if they do.

But that might just be wishful thinking on my part.

Still, here and now, we’re seeing the win, and I’m glad to see it. I’d have preferred Congress had killed it when they killed the tax stamp for these items, but I’ll take what I can get.

Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.

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