The National Rifle Association just dropped a major warning shot in the Fifth Circuit. Alongside the American Suppressor Association and Independence Institute, the NRA filed an amicus brief in United States v. Peterson.
Their message? Gun registration schemes are dangerous, unconstitutional, and historically a fast track to confiscation.
The case centers on suppressor registration, but the bigger fight is about where the government’s power ends. A three-judge panel upheld registration rules while assuming suppressors are “arms” protected by the Second Amendment.
The NRA says that logic opens the door for the government to demand registration of every firearm without ever meeting the Supreme Court’s text-and-history test.
That test, set out in District of Columbia v. Heller and hammered home in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, is clear: if the Second Amendment’s text covers the conduct, the government must prove the restriction matches this nation’s historical firearm tradition.
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There’s no carve-out for “presumptively lawful” laws like licensing. Every regulation has to clear the same constitutional bar.
The NRA brief calls out the panel for blurring the line between licensing and registration. Licensing, the brief notes, deals with ensuring owners know how to safely handle firearms. Registration, by contrast, creates lists of who owns what—lists that history shows are ripe for abuse.
And the history lesson isn’t subtle:
- The brief points to King Charles II’s 1662 registration orders in England, which enabled the Crown to disarm political opponents.
- It highlights the Weimar Republic’s registration laws that became a Nazi tool for seizing Jewish weapons before Kristallnacht.
- It cites France in 1935, where registration records made it easy for German occupiers to disarm civilians.
- And it even looks closer to home, reminding the court how New York City used its registration rolls to confiscate so-called “assault weapons” in the 1990s.
Congress itself has long recognized the danger. In 1941, lawmakers banned federal firearms registration in response to totalitarian abuses overseas.
The Firearms Owners’ Protection Act of 1986 doubled down, explicitly prohibiting a national registry. Even Justice Kavanaugh, back when he was on the D.C. Circuit, noted that registration has never been a longstanding American tradition.
The NRA brief doesn’t mince words: registration schemes aren’t about safety, they’re about control. If courts shield them from constitutional scrutiny, the Second Amendment’s “unqualified command” becomes meaningless.
The bottom line?
The NRA wants the full Fifth Circuit to rehear the case and apply the Supreme Court’s test the right way. Because if history has taught gun owners anything, it’s that registration lists don’t end with safety—they end with confiscation.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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Currently, the Federal government has a registry with around 900 million citizen firearm purchases even though it is illegal. This very large registry needs to be destroyed. After 90 days citizen firearm purchase records should be destroyed.
Nope, it would lead to civil war. It would violate the Second Amendment as well as Article One, Section Nine, Clause Three, the no ex post facto clause.
I want to add an occurrence that happened to me a few years ago in Florida. I bought a Glock SF21 from a local dealer. A few months later I bought a .50 Cal Top Rail from Guncrafter Industries. A few months afterwards, I received a call from the FBI in Washington at my store asking about if I still had my SF21. I immediately questioned his apparent illegal knowledge of my purchase. A female got on the line who also was listening to the conversation and identified herself as a member of the Secret Service. She informed me that a couple of her fellow agents were wounded in a gun battle with someone who had a firearm, Glock SF21, with the same serial number as mine. We had a tense conversation about record keeping and I sent them a text showing my Glock with the upgraded rail and serial number, which was on my person at the time. The end of the conversation was a statement by the male FBI that I had the right to get a new firearm from Glock with a different serial number.
My take on the conversation is that Our Government has a detailed list of all gun owners in the Country against the perception that the populace considers purchasing firearms without Government oversight; situation ripe for Tyranny and Confiscation. ATF needs to go.
As a 30 year + NRA certified instructor and over 45 years as a member I can confidently say that the NRA DOES NOT SPEAK FOR ME!
Wayne laPierre and those that enabled him destroyed all of the NRA’s credibility.
Support GOA / FPC / ASA and other LEGIT Gun rights groups.
need to bring back the days of ordering through sears and it arriving in the mail!