Federal Judge Rules National Firearms Act Registration Requirements Unconstitutional After Tax Reduction

On August 5, 2026, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix ruled that the National Firearms Act's registration requirements for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns are unconstitutional. The ruling follows the 2025 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' which reduced taxes on these items to $0, thereby erasing the law's constitutional taxing-power foundation. The decision applies only to the plaintiffs, which include 15 Republican-led states and major gun-rights organizations.

NFA registration requirements unconstitutional

• ▪On August 5, 2026, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix ruled that major regulatory registration and paperwork requirements of the 1934 National Firearms Act are unconstitutional.
• ▪Judge James Wesley Hendrix issued a permanent injunction barring the federal government from enforcing National Firearms Act registration requirements for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns.
• ▪Judge James Wesley Hendrix placed a seven-day stay on his August 5, 2026 ruling to allow the federal government time to appeal the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Tax elimination removes constitutional basis

• ▪President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4, 2025, which reduced the National Firearms Act making and transferring taxes on certain firearms to $0.
• ▪The tax on suppressors and short-barreled firearms was reduced to $0 instead of being fully repealed after the Senate Parliamentarian struck language removing the items from the National Firearms Act's purview.
• ▪Judge James Wesley Hendrix ruled that because the National Firearms Act no longer generates revenue from these untaxed firearms, its regulatory provisions cannot be upheld under Congress's taxing power.

Congressional enumerated powers limits

• ▪The National Firearms Act was originally enacted in 1934 under Congress's taxing power, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1937 case Sonzinsky v. United States.
• ▪Judge James Wesley Hendrix rejected the federal government's argument that the National Firearms Act regulations could be retroactively justified under the Commerce Clause, noting Congress never invoked that power.
• ▪Judge James Wesley Hendrix ruled that the federal government's powers are limited to those enumerated in the Constitution, and congressional legislation must be authorized by one of those powers.

Ruling scope limited to plaintiffs

• ▪The August 5, 2026 ruling leaves National Firearms Act registration requirements in place for the "any other weapons" category, even though those items are not taxed.
• ▪The August 5, 2026 ruling does not apply to machine guns or destructive devices, which remain subject to the $200 National Firearms Act tax and registration requirements.
• ▪The August 5, 2026 ruling by Judge James Wesley Hendrix is limited to the plaintiffs in the consolidated cases, including their members, customers, agencies, and political subdivisions.

Gun rights groups as plaintiffs

• ▪The consolidated lawsuits against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were brought by gun rights groups including the Silencer Shop Foundation, Gun Owners of America, and the National Rifle Association.
• ▪Gun rights groups, including the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Second Amendment Foundation, praised the ruling as a major victory toward their goal of eliminating the National Firearms Act.

State governments joined lawsuit

• ▪The fifteen state plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Texas, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
• ▪Fifteen Republican-led states joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs, seeking relief for their state agencies and subdivisions from the National Firearms Act registration requirements.