New: Federal Judge Deals Crushing Blow to NFA Rules on Short-Barreled Shotguns and Suppressors

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By Teri Christoph

Lovers of the Second Amendment got some good news Wednesday after a federal judge out of the Northern District of Texas ruled that large portions of the National Firearms Act (NFA) were rendered unconstitutional after Congress eliminated the transfer tax that had historically provided the constitutional basis for registration and recordkeeping requirements governing suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns.

U.S. District Court Judge James Wesley Hendrix ruled in the case Jensen v. ATF that “[b]y 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.”

The Court’s injunction applies to “the plaintiffs and, where applicable, the plaintiffs’ agencies, political subdivisions, members, and customers—both current and future,” but does not take effect for seven days “to allow the defendants to seek relief, if any, at the appellate level.”

 Pro-Second Amendment advocates are celebrating. 

“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 Second Amendment Foundation (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 founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb added, "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. 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."

According to Philip Van Cleaver of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, "suppressors, short-barrel rifles, and short-barrel shotguns will no longer be NFA items and can be bought using a Form 4473 like a regular firearm" if the government fails to obtain further appellate relief from Judge Hendrix's decision.

Brandon Combs, president of the Firearms Policy Coalition, praised the judge's decision, saying, "This is a massive win and an important step forward in our strategic plan to end the NFA. We cannot wait to fully and finally eliminate this unconstitutional scheme so people can exercise their rights when, where, and how they choose."

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