BIG BEAUTIFUL LAWSUIT: Gun rights advocates target National Firearms Act

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Pro-gun groups, including the Silencer Shop Foundation and Gun Owners of America, filed the “Big Beautiful Lawsuit” challenging federal rules on silencers and short-barreled firearms, arguing the 1934 National Firearms Act is unconstitutional after recent legislative changes.

Filed against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), the suit argues that the Big Beautiful Bill’s repeal of the $200 tax on silencers, short-barreled rifles, shotguns, and other weapons in 2026 undercuts the constitutional basis for regulating them under the National Firearms Act. The NFA’s registry was tied to enforcing its tax on certain firearms, but with that tax set to expire, the legal basis for maintaining the list is weakening.

“This lawsuit isn’t about picking a fight — it’s about ending one that started in 1934. For nearly a century, Americans have been told they need to beg for permission to protect their own hearing,” asserts Dave Matheny, the CEO and founder of Silencer Shop. “That’s not safety. That’s government inertia. We’re fighting to restore the kind of common sense our grandparents took for granted — where you could enjoy your rights without a calendar and a checkbook standing in the way.”

The Silencer Shop Foundation said overturning the ATF rule would ease barriers on gun rights and block future suppressor costs, while Gun Owners of America’s Erich Pratt called the tax repeal a monumental opportunity.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to dismantle one of the most abusive federal gun control laws on the books. With the tax struck down by Congress, the rest of the NFA is standing on air,” Pratt contends. “We’re ready to take this fight to the courts and finally end the federal registry once and for all.”

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