Fifteen States Join Challenge to National Firearms Act

The National Firearms Act was sold to the American public not as gun control, but as a simple tax. The registration of weapons and such that fall under the law existed not because such devices needed to be tracked, but to make sure that the tax was paid.

Now, the tax for suppressors and short-barreled rifles and shotguns is gone, killed by the One Big Beautiful Bill.

The problem was that too many lawmakers were uncomfortable with removing the registration as well. That was originally in the bill, of course, when it passed the House, but the Senate just couldn’t bring itself to do it right. That means what we have is a registration that is meant to track people who have paid a tax that doesn’t exist anymore.

Yes, it’s precisely as stupid as it sounds.

Unsurprisingly, the law is being challenged in court, because it’s just that stupid. Now, 15 pro-gun states have joined in that lawsuit.

Fifteen Republican-led states have backed a sweeping federal lawsuit that could dismantle much of the nearly century-old National Firearms Act. The lawsuit argues that Congress’s repeal of most taxes on certain regulated weapons stripped the government of its constitutional authority to require their registration.

The amended complaint, filed Friday in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, expands a case brought by Gun Owners of America immediately after President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law on July 4.

In a post on its X account, GOA said its “Big Beautiful Lawsuit” with allied groups, including the Gun Owners Foundation, the Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Palmetto State Armory, SilencerCo, Silencer Shop, and B&T USA, “just got bigger” as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the addition of Texas and 14 other states to the lawsuit.

…

The constitutional foundation on which the NFA rested has dissolved, the filing states, noting that in the 1937 Sonzinsky v. United States case, the Supreme Court upheld the NFA as “only a taxing measure” and found its registration provisions “obviously supportable as in aid of a revenue purpose.” They argue that with no tax left to collect for most covered firearms, those provisions “are now unconstitutional.”

The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, a Trump appointee. The National Rifle Association is leading a separate but similar lawsuit before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark, also appointed by Trump.

Honestly, you can’t have a track record of calling something a tax, then suddenly pretend it was never a tax. That’s absolute nonsense, though the anti-gunners do it all the time. They never viewed the NFA as a tax, though. It was always a gun control regulation for them, and we all know it. That’s why they lost their minds over the possibility that we might not have to register suppressors or short-barreled rifles.

Never mind that criminals can make their own suppressors and short-barreled long guns as much as they want without any issues at all. It’s not difficult, really, especially in this day and age. It was never about criminals, though.

It’s about regulating what you and I can do.

They wanted to registration left in place, not because they believe it does some good, but because they want everything registered and can’t handle the potential setback of the one registry that’s in place at the federal level being gutted.

With these states putting their stamp on the lawsuit, my hope is that the Department of Justice offers absolutely no rebuttal to speak of. Let them just say, “They’re right. This is unconstitutional as hell, and we should overturn it entirely.” 

Sure, some people will lose their minds, but they’re losing them already, so who cares?

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.

Help us continue to report on their efforts and legislative successes. Join Bearing Arms VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.